A man wearing a dark-coloured jumper with white Cawarden logo on it. The man is holding a tile and standing in front of a wooden door.Image source, Cawarden
Image caption,

The message reads: "I do hereby discharge you, John Lewis, from my employment, Thomas Austin."

ByRichard PriceWest Midlands
  • Published12 November 2026

What appears to be a 200-year-old letter of dismissal, written on a roof slate, has been found at a salvage yard.

The tile, informing what is thought to be a 19th-century pottery worker that he was no longer needed, was found at Cawarden Reclaim in Rugeley, Staffordshire.

The message had been written into soft clay before the Staffordshire Blue tile was fired, and reads: "I do hereby discharge you, John Lewis, from my employment, Thomas Austin."