A Nice Cup Made In Britain

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FROM THE UTILITARIAN earthenware of the mid-1600s, through the delicate decorative pieces of the 18th and 19th century, to the clean modern lines of contemporary ceramics, British pottery has always had its home in the Midlands city of Stoke-on-Trent. The abundance of coal in the area, needed to fire the bottle kilns, and the good quality local clay, ensured that British pottery has been made and produced here for over four centuries. Today, it is still home to the likes of Wedgwood, Portmeirion, Emma Bridgewater, Burleigh and Moorcroft, and its reputation for pottery has certainly endured. Even local football team Stoke City are affectionately known throughout the game as ‘the Potters’.

It was Wedgwood, founded by Josiah Wedgwood (1730 – 95), who revolutionised the “Potteries” – as Stoke on Trent is also known – with his creation of a more refined type of pottery, known as “Queen’s Ware”, and from here new glazing techniques, more decorative skills and vibrant colours (including the rich, cobalt blue colour so tied up with British ceramic production) began to be introduced. In the late 1800s, Doulton started to produce pottery pieces as art, while at the same time other producers were developing their work with porcelain, and it was around this time that the likes of Royal Worcester, Spode (famed for its bone china) and Davenport became established names.

MODERN TRADITION