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[[File:BritainFromAbove MawAndCo.jpg|thumb|300px|right|An aerial view of Jackfield in 1948, with Maw and Co's factory extending across most of the image on the near side of the River Severn. Jackfield Halt was located at the left (west) end of the factory at this date. Image from [http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw012675 Britain from Above]]]
'''Maw and Company''', often referred to as Maw & Co., was a company specialised in the manufacture of decorative floor tiles, later expanding to other ceramic wares.
==Maw & Co. history==
The company was formed in Worcester in 1850, and in 1862 moved to a new factory in Broseley in the Ironbridge Gorge<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maw_%26_Co Maw & Co], Wikipedia, accessed 7/12/2015</ref>, providing a significant portion of the traffic at [[Ironbridge and Broseley]] station. The company quickly outgrew the cramped Ironbridge site, and a decision was taken to open a new factory downriver at Jackfield, home to several other tile factories. On opening in 1883, the Benthall Encaustic Tile Works were the largest tileworks in the world, employing 400 people and producing 20 million tiles annually. Tiles were exported across the British Empire via the Severn Valley railway, to locations including as the Maharaja's Palace, Mysore, India; St. Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne; and the Bank of South Africa, Johannesburg.<ref>M. A. Vanns, ''The Severn Valley Railway''</ref>
The land around Jackfield is prone to slipping, which became a constant expense to both the Great Western Railway and other local businesses. In 1882, Maw & Co undertook to sink several old boiler barrels, some possibly from GWR locomotives, vertically into the ground and fill them with concrete in an attempt to stabilise the ground. The process was described in an article in "The Engineer", December 1882, a copy of which may be seen on a Telford and Wrekin Council information board at the site of the slip.<ref>The Engineer, December 8, 1882 on [https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/ Grace's Guide]</ref> The remains of several of the shells are still present in the vicinity.<gallery mode=packed heights=150px style="text-align:left">Jackfield_Boiler_Shells.jpg|Remains of old boiler shellsJackfield_Boiler_Shells_Poster.jpg|Information board showing an illustration from The Engineer article </gallery>
The factory closed in 1970 and now houses a collection of art, craft and design studios<ref>[http://www.mawscraftcentre.co.uk/ Maws Craft Centre web site]</ref>.
*1927 map, largely unchanged
<gallerymode=packed heights=150px style="text-align:left">
File: OS_Maws_1883.jpg | 1883
File: OS_Maws_1902.jpg | 1902