Eleanor Coade, born 1733
eighteenth century businesswoman
Eleanor Coade was a British businesswoman known for manufacturing Neoclassical statues, architectural decorations and garden ornaments made of Lithodipyra or Coade stone for over 50 years from 1769 until her death. Lithodipyra ("stone fired twice") was a high-quality, durable moulded weather-resistant, ceramic stoneware; statues and decorative features from this still look almost new today. She combined high-quality manufacturing and artistic taste, together with entrepreneurial, business and marketing skills, to create the overwhelmingly successful stone products of her age. She produced stoneware for St George's Chapel, Windsor; The Royal Pavilion, Brighton; Carlton House, London and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. Shortly after her death, her company produced a large quantity of stoneware used in the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace. Her former family home in Lyme Regis, Dorset, is available for holiday lets through the Landmark Trust.
Source: This life story is by Caroline Stanford, the Landmark Trust’s historian. It was published in the Georgian Group Journal Volume XXIV, and is archived here with acknowledgement and thanks.