J Broadhurst

tea cups found in a charity shop

plates also found in a charity shop

plate from J Broadhurst in Ironstone with green and white pattern of a Constable scene.  The back stamp says "The Constable Series Bicentennial 1776-1976".  The pottery is now over 40 years old

Broadhurst China. Established in 1862
This firm was based at the Crown Pottery, Longton, Staffordshire until 1870.
Here James Broadhurst made a range of gold and silver lustrewares. In 1870 the firm moved to the Portland Pottery at Fenton, Staffordshire and
continued to produce good quality earthenware. In 1897 "& Sons" was added to the company name and "Ltd" from C.1922. The full name, James Broadhurst
& Sons Ltd. appears from 1957. In 1984 James Broadhurst & Sons Ltd became Churchill Tableware Ltd.

Paragon China

I picked up this wonderful trio of china at the local charity shop on Friday. 
I read online that this pattern was originally manufactured in 1981.  Paragon was owned by Royal Doulton at that point.

Paragon China was introduced by the Star China Co. in 1903. This company began production at the St Gregory's Works, Gregory Street in Longton in the last few years of the 19th century and moved to the Atlas Works, Sutherland Road, Longton in March 1903. The partners were initially Herbert James Aynsley, John Gerrard Aynsley and William Illingworth. Herbert was the eldest son of John, who founded the well-known firm of John Aynsley & Sons. He had gained much experience in the manufacture of good quality china, having been in business with his father for many years. John Aynsley retired in July 1900.

In 1907 Herbert Aynsley's youngest daughter married Hugh Irving, who was a sales representative for the Rubian Art Pottery Ltd in Longton. Irving subsequently joined his father-in-law as a partner in the Star China Company when Illingworth retired in 1910. Paragon china was so popular that in 1919 the company changed its name to become the Paragon China Company.

  In 1972, Paragon became part of Royal Doulton and continued to produce china under that name until 1991. My 1989 the name and patterns had been absorbed into Royal Albert and the Paragon name was discontinued by 1992.

Gainsborough

Gainsborough Pink and Blue Flowers Vintage Bone China cup and saucer produced by Gainsborough in the 1960s.

I can't  find much information on Gainsborough bone china perhaps because they were a small mid-priced maker who never reached the heady heights of collectablilty like say, Royal Albert or Aynsley.

They must have been based in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire because their listing reads as follows:- "Gainsborough Works of Longton"

Jackson and Gosling

Jackson and Gosling Ltd 1866-1961 This famous china was established at the Grosvenor Works in King Street, Fenton, in about 1866, succeeding Jackson & Brown (c.1864).  In 1909 the address was changed to the Grosvenor Works, Gregory Street, Longton. The firm became a limited liability company in 1928, although 'Ltd" was not always added to marks. The trade name 'Grosvenor China' was widely used.   In the 1932-3 period Jackson & Gosling was acquired by W.T. Copeland & Sons Ltd; the standard mark then sometimes included: Copeland's Grosvenor China England.

This pottery mark is 

probably c.1930+  name 'Jackson & Gosling Ltd' in full.

"Ltd" was used 1930+

Colclough

 The Colclough china company was founded in 1890 by Herbert Joseph Colclough, who was an ex-Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent.

Mr Colclough was a very conscientious man who loved his pottery and was known on occasion to stay up all night next to his kilns, which he had packed, so that he could be the first to see the new designs when they emerged.

He moved to the Vale potteries in Longton and in 1913 was honoured when he was visited by King George V and Queen Mary. They then gave royal licence to the company to produce Royal Vale china.In the 1930's Colclough china was expanding fast. In 1948, Colclough China Limited took over Booths and Adderley and then in the early 1950's merged with the Ridgway Company.

Colclough and Ridgway became part of the Royal Doulton Group in the early 1970's. However, in 1996, Colclough production discontinued and manufacture ceased.

This is known as the Linden pattern.

Royal Albert

Wild (Thomas C. Wild (& Co.)) (1896–1917)

Thomas Clarke Wild joined his father, Thomas Wild, in the purchase of the Albert Works, Longton in 1895, and the partnership manufactured bone china tea ware as Thomas C. Wild & Co. Wild became sole proprietor on the death of his father in 1898 and from 1905 to 1917 the business traded simply as ‘Thomas C. Wild’. The St Mary’s Works, Longton, was purchased from Bernard Moore in 1905 and used initially for decoration of the products manufactured at the nearby Albert Works. As Wild’s business prospered he acquired other factories and pottery businesses, the Park Place Works was acquired in about 1910, followed by the Royal Albert China Works in 1917, the Shore & Coggins Ltd business (and Edensor Works) in 1918 and that of William Lowe in 1919. By the early 1920s Wild owned or had controlling interests in about 15 North Staffordshire potteries.

Thomas Wild's sons Thomas E. Wild and Frederick C. Wild joined the business in the early years of the 20th century and were admitted into partnership with their father in 1917, the business then trading as Thomas C. Wild & Sons. Wild retired from active management in 1932 and the business was incorporated as Thomas C. Wild & Sons Ltd with Thomas and Frederick Wild as the permanent directors. In the course of the 1930's the sons rationalised the business closing or selling off some of their father’s many acquisitions and, beginning in 1937, undertaking the modernisation and expansion of the St. Mary’s Works.

As a major exporter, the business remained in production during the Second World War and in 1946 the decision was made to again expand the St Mary’s Works. To fund the expansion the company was one of the first UK pottery businesses to list on the London Stock Exchange. The share issue, on 8th July 1947, closed five times oversubscribed only five minutes after opening. Control of the business, and its three remaining subsidiaries Roslyn China Ltd, Chapmans (Longton) Ltd, and Shore & Coggins Ltd, remained, however, firmly in the hands of the Wild brothers and their sons. The company acquired Paragon China Ltd in 1960 greatly expanding its manufacturing base.

Only four years later, in 1964, the Pearson Group through its subsidiary Lawleys Ltd made a cash and share offer for the whole share capital of T. C. Wild & Sons Ltd and the Wild family members accepted the offer. The new acquisition was merged by Pearson’s into their Lawley Group to form a new company Allied English Potteries Ltd although Wild and the other member companies continued to trade under their own, well-known, names. Thomas E. Wild was appointed as life president of Thomas C. Wild & Sons Ltd and sons Kenneth and Peter Wild joined the Board of the newly formed Allied English Potteries Ltd. The Wild businesses initially operated independently within Allied English Potteries, but in 1966 AEP closed the Shore & Coggins Ltd business, leading to the resignation of Peter Wild—ironically the closure was to free the Edensor Works to allow increased production of the Wilds’ own iconic Royal Albert china. In 1969 Kenneth Wild, managing director of T. C. Wild & Sons Ltd, and David Wild, managing director of Paragon China Ltd, (also an AEP Board member) resigned from their positions severing the last family links to the company founded by their grandfather.
http://www.potteryhistories.com/page100.html

Jackson and Gosling Ltd

Jackson and Gosling Ltd 1866-1961 The partnership was established at the Grosvenor Works in King Street, Fenton, in about 1866, succeeding Jackson & Brown (c.1864).  In 1909 the address was changed to the Grosvenor Works, Gregory Street, Longton. The firm became a limited liability company in 1928, although 'Ltd" was not always added to marks. The trade name 'Grosvenor China' was widely used.

In the 1932-3 period Jackson & Gosling was acquired by W.T. Copeland & Sons Ltd; the standard mark then sometimes included: Copeland's Grosvenor China England. Jackson & Gosling China Company closed in 1969 and the trade name was no longer used. 

Royal Stafford

Royal Stafford was formed in 1992 with the combination of two famous pottery factories, Royal Stafford China and Barrats of Staffordshire. Royal Stafford was founded in 1845 in the town of Longton by Thomas Poole. The Royal Overhouse Manufactory, home of the Barrats of Staffs is one of the oldest factories in Burslem and belonged for two centuries to the Wedgewood family.

This pottery mark shows the date when Royal Stafford was originally founded.

The pattern on this teacup is bouquet and  is incredibly similar to my all time favourite - Royal Albert Old Country Roses.

Country Roses

In 1896, Thomas Clark Wild bought a pottery in Longton, Stoke on Trent, England, called Albert Works, which had been named the year before in honor of the birth of Prince Albert, who became King George VI in 1936. Using the brand name Albert Crown China, Thomas Wild and Co. produced commemorative bone-china pieces for Queen Victoria's 1897 Diamond Jubilee, and by 1904 had earned a Royal Warrant.

From the beginning, Royal Albert's bone china tableware was popular, especially its original floral patterns made in rich shades of red, green, and blue. Known for incredibly fine, white, and pure bone china, Royal Albert was given to the sentimental and florid excesses of Victorian Era England, making pattern after pattern inspired by English gardens and woodlands. With designs like Serena, Old English Roses, and Masquerade and motifs inspired by Japanese Imari, the company appealed to a wide range of tastes, from the simplest to the most aristocratic.

Before 1904, pieces of Wild's bone china were printed or impressed on the back with a simple crown mark with the letters "T.C.W." underneath. Between 1905 and 1907, pieces were stamped with the words “Royal Albert Crown China” between concentric circles around a crown and sometimes the letters "T.C.W." or the pattern’s name. Between 1907 and 1922, the new backstamp had a similar circular logo, but with the crown on top and interlocking "TCW" letters on the inside.

When Wild's sons joined the company in 1917, they quite naturally changed the firm’s name to "Thomas Wild & Sons" and started using a mark that doesn't have circles around the logo. Starting in 1927, Royal Albert used a wide variety of more stylized backstamps, some with the crown, some without, and others stylized with script and Art Deco lettering. Some of these marks even had roses or other parts of the pattern in them.

Shelley

Shelley Potteries started life as Wileman & Co when, in 1862, Joseph Ball Shelley was taken into partnership with the firm of Henry Wileman at the Foley China Works, Fenton, Staffs. Over the years, Wileman & Co was a melting pot for many important designers such as Micklewright, Rowland Morris, Frederick Rhead and Walter Slater.

In 1860 when the Wileman family, owners of the Foley works, a large pottery between Longton and Fenton in Staffordshire, England, built a second pottery for the purpose of producing fine china.

James B. Shelley left the Dresden works and joined Henry Wileman and his sons as a traveller. In 1864, Henry Wileman died and his two sons Charles and James split the two works with James running the earthenware works and Charles the china works. In 1870, James died and in 1872, Charles took James Shelley in partnership to run the china works.

 Shelley focused on getting the best china product possible out of the company and staff. He worked on improving china quality and building the foreign export part of the business. James took his son Percy into the firm in 1881. Percy was to run the company for some 50 years. Percy learned the business fast and set off to find top pottery artists and litho designers to improve the appearance and quality of its wares. In 1896, attention was directed to English and foreign sales and after the death of Joseph, Percy Shelley was in full control.

Royal Kendal

HUDSON & MIDDLETON LTD

1941–1975

Hudson & Middleton Ltd were important manufacturers of domestic earthenware and bone china wares including tea and tableware, floral china, ornamental china and bone china mugs. Trade names included Delphine China (to c.1947), Sutherland China, Royal Sutherland, and Royal Kendal. The Hudson & Middleton Ltd mark was a lion rampant flanked by the letters 'H' and 'M'.

Hudson & Middleton Ltd was established in 1941 through the amalgamation of two businesses owned by the Barlow and Chapman families and trading as ‘William Hudson & Co’ and ‘J. H. Middleton & Co.’.

The business was run by fathers and sons Eric Vardon Chapman and George E. V. Chapman, and Eric Hudson Barlow and Grenville Barlow from the 1950's.  In 1972 family control stopped when the business was sold to Barker Ellis Silver Co. Ltd of Birmingham. Barker Ellis continued the business under the Hudson & Middleton name, but production of earthenware ceased in 1974. In mid-1975 the residual Hudson & Middleton Ltd business including the Sutherland Works was sold to new owners including the former managing director George Fairweather. The new business operated as Hudson & Middleton (Longton) Ltd.

Hudson and Middleton

Gladstone

The origin of the pottery known as the Gladstone Works dates right back to the birth of the pottery industry as we know it today. At the end of the 18th century Longton was the next largest pottery  town after Burslem, and the future growth of Longton was made possible by the sale of the Longton Manor estate in the 1780s, which enabled the Burslem potters, and others, to buy land at a time when there was a shortage of developable land in the Burslem area.

Among the purchasers of the Longton lands were the Shelleys, a local family who had become well known for their potting skills. By 1787 they had established a large and thriving manufacturing concern on a site to the south of Lane End, adjoining the recently turnpiked road to Uttoxeter. It is on part of this site that the Gladstone Pottery Museum now stands. Here the Shelleys produced their own earthenware, and also decorated plates and dishes manufactured by Josiah Wedgwood at Etruria. Two of the family, Thomas and Michael, were to achieve considerable prestige as manufacturers; yet by 1789 their business had failed, and they were declared bankrupt and forced to sell their factory. The purchaser was William Ward and he paid £900 for the site.

George Proctor & Co Ltd

Manufacturers of bone china tablewares at Longton

c.1891-64

Works operated here pre 1891 - it was in March 1960 that the ovens last fired; but decorating and then only despatch departments were active until May 1970

GEORGE PROCTER & CO (LTD), Gladstone Pottery, High Street, Longton.
1891 - 1940. 

GLADSTONE CHINA (LONGTON) LTD, High Street, Longton.
1939 - 1952. 

GLADSTONE CHINA. Uttoxeter Road (High Street changed its name), Longton .
1952 - 1967. 

Bell China

Bell China was produced by Shore & Coggins, Longton, Staffordshire Potteries 1911 to 1966.

I wonder if anyone knows the name of this pattern that has been hand painted on this china?

Shore & Coggins Limited produced china ware in their Edensor Works, New Street and the High Street Works, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, England.
The firm dates back to 1887 when it was known as J. Shore & Co. In 1905 a new partnership was formed with Shore, Coggins & Holt, this partnership survived 5 years until 1910 when Shore & Coggins Limited was formed.

Royal Albert:Flowers of the month

Company History

Wild (Thomas C. Wild (& Co.)) (1896–1917)

In 1895 Thomas Clarke Wild joined his father, Thomas Wild, in the purchase of the Albert Works, Longton, and the partnership manufactured bone china teaware as Thomas C. Wild & Co. Wild became sole proprietor on the death of his father in 1898 and from 1905 to 1917 the business traded simply as ‘Thomas C. Wild’. The St Mary’s Works, Longton, was purchased from Bernard Moore in 1905 and used initially for decoration of the products manufactured at the nearby Albert Works. As Wild’s business prospered he acquired other factories and pottery businesses, the Park Place Works was acquired in about 1910, followed by the Royal Albert China Works in 1917, the Shore & Coggins Ltd business (and Edensor Works) in 1918 and that of William Lowe in 1919. By the early 1920s Wild owned or had controlling interests in about 15 North Staffordshire potteries.

If you like floral designs then you will adore Royal Albert's Flower of the Month series. For every month, there is a beautiful and breathtaking flower for you to admire. 

The flower of the month for April is the Sweet Pea.

Royal Albert

Company History

Wild (Thomas C. Wild (& Co.)) (1896–1917)

Thomas Clarke Wild joined his father, Thomas Wild, in the purchase of the Albert Works, Longton in 1895. The partnership manufactured bone china tea ware as Thomas C. Wild & Co. Wild became sole proprietor on the death of his father in 1898 and from 1905 to 1917 the business traded simply as ‘Thomas C. Wild’. The St Mary’s Works, Longton, was purchased from Bernard Moore in 1905 and used initially for decoration of the products manufactured at the nearby Albert Works. As Wild’s business prospered he acquired other factories and pottery businesses, the Park Place Works was acquired in about 1910, followed by the Royal Albert China Works in 1917, the Shore & Coggins Ltd business (and Edensor Works) in 1918 and that of William Lowe in 1919. By the early 1920s Wild owned or had controlling interests in about 15 North Staffordshire potteries.

Flower of the Month 

May Teacup & Saucer

Flower: Lily of the Valley
To own a piece of Royal Albert is like having a piece of history in your hands. 

Sylvan Works

SylvaC tulip vase

The factory was founded  by William Shaw and William Copestake in 1894 and given the company name of Shaw & Copestake. William Copestake  left the partnership half way through the first year and in 1895 Mr Richard Hull became William Shaw’s business partner. Their partnership grew in strength and over the forty years of producing  ‘fancies’ Richard Hull was to have a major influence, including the development of the export side which was to lead the way for the company's  future success. 

In 1894, Mr Shaw called his company the Sheaf Art Pottery, but the wares produced were not produced by hand as in many art pottery studios - rather they were mass produced in moulds and then hand decorated.  Early products included decorated vases, jugs, flower pots, cheese stands, toilet wares and fancy earthenwares.  They were very ornate and heavily decorated with gold and a lot of hand painting.

Shaw & Copestake, Sylvan Works, Longton Reproduced from 1904 Pottery Gazette Reference Book