John Merriott Blashfield was a 19th-century English cement manufacturer and manufacturer of architectural terracotta elements and garden ornaments. He was especially known for his inlaid and tessellated pavements. In 1836, he bought a number of Coade's old moulds and later opened his own terracotta works in Millwall, Poplar, England, where, in 1854, he employed the sculptor, John Bell as modeller, amongst several other top names. In 1858, he moved to Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. Soon afterwards, he formed the Stamford Terra Cotta Company (Blashfield) Ltd. For his work, he received 2 medals at the International Exhibition in 1862 and a silver medal at the Paris International Exhibition of 1867. His company, however, became insolvent and closed in 1875.
Sources:
Gunnis, Rupert, Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, New and Revised Edition (London: Murray's Sales and Service Co., 1968), p. 56.
Smith, John F. H., ‘Blashfield, John Marriott (1811–1882)’ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).
'The Crown estate in Kensington Palace Gardens: Historical development', Survey of London: volume 37: Northern Kensington (1973), pp. 151-162. < http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=49872> [accessed 12 November 2007]