Ashton Sovereign LX - "Bill Taylor" U.K. # EBI 11

Ashton pipe - Bill Taylor era.

Stampings:

Ashton  SOVEREIGN (LX)             - left side
MADE IN ENGLAND 8 = (1988)   - right side

All are clear and legible

Condition: VERY GOOD - no issues, the Cumberland mouthpiece is pristine, slight charring on the rim edge.

This pipe is a stunner being a very large Billiard LX, with thick walls, 

N.B. I knew "Bill Taylor" quite well. Over a decade he expanded my knowledge of pipes beyond anything I could imagine. He was my Sensei (先生). 

This particular pipe dates to 1988. Part of era where Bill Taylor, working with Fred Lincoln, and then Sid Cooper, was one the peaks years of ASHTON pipes production. "Billy" at his best.

Ashton is an English pipe brand created by William Ashton Taylor, a former Dunhill pipe maker & head of production. He left Dunhill and in 1984 started to make pipes under his own name, with R.D. Field as his US distributor and supporter.

Bill Taylor's ASHTON pipes were a revelation, the first of British pipe revival of the late 20th century. Other notable pipemakers included Les Wood - Ferndown, Barry Jones & Ken Barnes, Upshall Pipes, Wilmer, Colin Fromm - Castleford now at Dunhill. 

Measurements & Details:

Length: 6 5/8" / 170 mm

Bowl Height: 2 1/2" / 64 mm

Bowl Depth: 1 7/8 / 48 mm

I.B.Dia: 15/16"/ 24 mm

O.B.Dia: 1 7/8"/ 48 mm

Weight: 2.85 oz / 82 gm

Stem: Cumberland (Vulcanite)

Country: England