Ashton 1987 Pebble Grain LX Sandblasted Lovat Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

Ashton is an English pipe brand, one originally created by William Ashton Taylor. Taylor worked at Dunhill from an early age, becoming one of the company’s most accomplished pipe makers. But Taylor was also one of a number of craftsmen and women who who left Dunhill in the 1970s and 1980s, hoping to create something of their own. After experimenting with a couple of different projects, Taylor ultimately founded Ashton, a workshop for high-end, handmade pipes staffed by himself and other industry veterans like Frank Lincoln and Sid Cooper. Later, Taylor’s team were joined by another Dunhill alumnus, Jimmy Craig, who would take over the running of the workshop after Taylor’s sudden passing in 2009. Along with other workshops, such as Ferndown and James Upshall, Ashton would play a decisive role in the emergence of a new English high-grades scene in the late 20th century and beyond.

It is a common theme among ex-Dunhill employees—at least, those who left in the second half of the 20th century—that their pipes tend to be larger than Dunhill’s standard fare. Les Wood and Dolly Wood’s Ferndown pipes, for example, rarely come close to the group 1, 2, or even 3 pipes Dunhill makes. The same applies to Ashton, a workshop founded by Bill Taylor and staffed by, at various times, Frank Lincoln, Jimmy Craig, and other individuals who had worked for Dunhill in some capacity. This was especially true in the “Taylor era” of 1983-2009, and even more so in the workshop’s first decade. This pipe, for example, is an example of an Ashton LX, or extra large, but it’s not even the second largest size the workshop offered. Still, it is indeed extra large, comparable to, say, one of the Dunhill “semi-giant” OD shapes, taking the form of an especially stout Lovat.

The finish on this one is another example of Ashton being “more Dunhill than Dunhill.” The “Pebble Grain” was Bill Taylor’s answer to Dunhill’s Shell Briar. This would already be easily deduced from its craggy, dark burgundy sandblast, but there’s another connection that brought the two finishes together. Like the early Dunhill Shell Briar, Ashton pipes were, before being finished, oil cured using a patented method of Taylor’s own invention. This was crucial for achieving the kinds of craggy sandblasts that early Dunhill pipes were known for, and which Ashton pipes revived.

The condition is very good. Some rim darkening and minor inner rim charring.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 1.76″ / 44.70mm

Weight: 2.4oz / 70g