Poole Pottery

Last updated

Poole Pottery
Owner Denby Pottery Company
Country Poole, Dorset, England.
Introduced1873
Previous owners1999 – 2001 Orb Estates Ltd
2002 – 2006 Peter Ford
2006 Zemmel & Symonds
2007 – 2011 Lifestyle Group Ltd
Website www.poolepottery.co.uk
Art Deco Poole Pottery designed by Truda Carter, 1920s or 1930s. Art Deco Poole Pottery with Truda Carter patterns.JPG
Art Deco Poole Pottery designed by Truda Carter, 1920s or 1930s.

Poole Pottery is a British pottery brand owned by Denby Pottery Company, with the products made in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire.

Contents

It was founded as a manufacturer in 1873 on Poole quayside in Dorset where it produced pottery, before moving its factory operations in 1999 to a new site in Sopers Lane until its closure in 2006. [1] They generally specialised in earthenware, although other bodies such as stoneware were periodically produced. [2]

Historical products from Poole Pottery are displayed in museums including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. [3]

History

Poole Pottery was originally "Carter's Industrial Tile Manufactory" and it was this company that provided the financial foundation for the later "Poole Pottery". Carter (Jesse) joined forces in the 1920s with designers Harold Stabler and Phoebe Stabler, and potters John Adams and Truda Adams (Truda Carter) to form "Carter Stabler Adams", who produced Art Deco pottery.

Tiling detail, Bethnal Green tube station, platform frieze. Bethnal Green. Platform Frieze Tiling.jpg
Tiling detail, Bethnal Green tube station, platform frieze.

The Carter company produced much of the ceramic tiling used on London Underground stations built in the 1930s and, of particular note, made the relief tiles, designed by Stabler, showing symbols of London–some of these can still be seen on stations such as Bethnal Green.

"Carter Stabler Adams" eventually became "Poole Pottery", and during and after World War II produced many lines, including Twintone and Traditional. Much of the traditional range was based on the work of the chief designer in the 1920s, Truda Carter; her original designs were interpreted by "paintresses" who added their own individuality to the pieces, all of which were handmade.

Design by Robert Jefferson Poolestock050001.jpg
Design by Robert Jefferson

Robert Jefferson joined in the 1950s, and alongside such artisans as Leslie Elsden (designer of the "Aegean" Range), Guy Sydenham, thrower and designer of the "Atlantis" range, Tony Morris, developer of the early "Delphis" Studio wares with Jefferson, and paintresses such as Carol Cutler, Diana Davies, Ros Sommerfeld, Ann Godfrey and others, including the three Wills sisters, Laura, Julia and Carolyn, produced two lines which are probably the most famous of all Poole's output: Delphis and Aegean.

Delphis is easily recognised: it is psychedelic, with vibrant colours and designs inspired by artists such as Mondrian, Warhol, Matisse and Pollock. Aegean is more subtle, with the sgraffito technique used to create the "silhouette" patterns that make this range so recognisable.

Twintone

Poole Pottery (Carter, Stabler and Adams) produced two-coloured tableware from the 1930s, but had to stop production during World War Two. When they re-launched the range in the late 1940s, they named it Twintone. Twintone was used on three shapes of tableware, many table accessories and a whole host of decorative ware right up to 1981.

Delphis

Poole Delphis no.49 pin dish Jean Millership Poole Delphis 49 Jean Millership 04.jpg
Poole Delphis no.49 pin dish Jean Millership

The Poole Delphis range, launched in 1963, was initially conceived by Guy Sydenham and Robert Jefferson and later developed by Jefferson and Tony Morris. Every piece is pretty much unique, with designs created by the decorators themselves.

Aegean

Introduced in 1970, Aegean utilises spray-on glazes in a wide range of techniques (sgraffito, silhouette, mosaic, flow line and carved clay) and patterns (from pure 1970's abstraction to more figurative images of fish, leaves, boats and pastoral scenes). Initially thought of as a replacement for Delphis, it was never as successful.

Living Glaze

Poole Pottery giftware is currently created using "Living Glaze". This involves the application of different glazes which react with one another to achieve unique results on each piece.

Closure and re-establishment

Leonard Curtis were appointed administrators in 2003, and sold the company as a going concern to Dorset businessman Peter Ford. They also raised funds for creditors by selling historic artefacts from the Pottery's museum. [4]

On 15 December 2006, it was announced that the shop would close, due to non-payment of debts mounting up since new owners took over in August. [5] The company, including the factory, went into administration on 20 December 2006, owing £1 million to over 300 creditors. [1]

Poole Pottery came out of administration on 10 February 2007 and was under the control of Lifestyle Group Ltd, which also owns Royal Stafford Tableware.

The pottery shop opened on Poole Quay, selling Poole Pottery giftware (first and seconds), lighting, tableware and studio ranges. The shop closed down in 2017. [6]

The main Poole Pottery factory is now at the Middleport Pottery (sharing with Burleigh Pottery) in Burslem, Stoke on Trent where production is now carried out following the closure of the Poole factory.

In June 2011, the Denby Pottery Company under the ownership of Hilco bought Poole Pottery. [7]

See also

Poole Museum (Dorset)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hornsea Pottery</span> Former pottery manufacturer in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England

Hornsea Pottery was a business located in the coastal town of Hornsea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They specialized in tableware with elegant contemporary designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denby Pottery Company</span> British manufacturer of pottery

Denby Pottery Company Ltd is a British manufacturer of pottery, named after the village of Denby in Derbyshire where it is based. It primarily sells hand-crafted stoneware tableware, kitchenware and serveware products including dinner sets, mugs and serving dishes, as well as a variety of glassware products and cast-iron cookware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Langley Mill Pottery</span>

Langley Mill Pottery was located in Langley Mill, Derbyshire on the Derbyshire – Nottinghamshire border. From its establishment in 1865 to its final closure in 1982, the pottery went through five distinct periods of ownership, producing a wide range of stoneware ranging from salt glazed ink bottles, utilitarian items and tableware to high quality and original art pottery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Rhead</span> English ceramics designer

Charlotte Rhead was an English ceramics designer active in the 1920s and the 1930s in the Potteries area of Staffordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashtead potters</span>

The Ashtead Pottery was opened in 1923 and continued in operation until 1935. It was based in Ashtead, Surrey, England at the Victoria Works. The operating firm, Ashtead Potters Ltd., employed disabled ex-servicemen recruited via labour exchanges across the south of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Doulton</span> British ceramics manufacturing company

Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of English pottery. From the start, the backbone of the business was a wide range of utilitarian wares, mostly stonewares, including storage jars, tankards and the like, and later extending to drain pipes, lavatories, water filters, electrical porcelain and other technical ceramics. From 1853 to 1901, its wares were marked Doulton & Co., then from 1901, when a royal warrant was given, Royal Doulton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mintons</span> English pottery company (1793–2005)

Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, decorative techniques, and "a glorious pot-pourri of styles - Rococo shapes with Oriental motifs, Classical shapes with Medieval designs and Art Nouveau borders were among the many wonderful concoctions". As well as pottery vessels and sculptures, the firm was a leading manufacturer of tiles and other architectural ceramics, producing work for both the Houses of Parliament and United States Capitol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zsolnay</span>

Zsolnay, or formally Zsolnay Porcelánmanufaktúra Zrt is a Hungarian manufacturer of porcelain, tiles, and stoneware. The company introduced the eosin glazing process and pyrogranite ceramics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crown Lynn</span> New Zealand ceramics manufacturer

Crown Lynn was a New Zealand ceramics manufacturer that operated under various names between 1854 and 1989.

Pilkington's Group Plc was a UK-based manufacturer and supplier of wall and floor coverings and building materials. The group had a history in ceramic tile manufacturing with the head office located on Rake Lane in Clifton Junction, near Manchester, England. The Pilkington's Manufacturing Ltd brand is currently owned by a Polish group of companies Rovese S.A - the second largest tile manufacturer in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art pottery</span> Pottery produced by artists emphasizing artistic rather than practical value

Art pottery is a term for pottery with artistic aspirations, made in relatively small quantities, mostly between about 1870 and 1930. Typically, sets of the usual tableware items are excluded from the term; instead the objects produced are mostly decorative vessels such as vases, jugs, bowls and the like which are sold singly. The term originated in the later 19th century, and is usually used only for pottery produced from that period onwards. It tends to be used for ceramics produced in factory conditions, but in relatively small quantities, using skilled workers, with at the least close supervision by a designer or some sort of artistic director. Studio pottery is a step up, supposed to be produced in even smaller quantities, with the hands-on participation of an artist-potter, who often performs all or most of the production stages. But the use of both terms can be elastic. Ceramic art is often a much wider term, covering all pottery that comes within the scope of art history, but "ceramic artist" is often used for hands-on artist potters in studio pottery.

John Beswick Ltd, formerly J. W. Beswick, was a pottery manufacturer, founded in 1894 by James Wright Beswick and his sons John and Gilbert in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. In 1969, the business was sold to Doulton & Co. Ltd. The factory closed in 2002 and the brand John Beswick was sold in 2004. The pottery was chiefly known for producing high-quality porcelain figurines such as farm animals and Beatrix Potter characters and have become highly sought in the collectables market. Pronunciation of Beswick is as at reads, Bes-wick. This information was from employees who worked at the original Beswick factory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heath Ceramics</span>

Heath Ceramics is a B Corp certified American company that designs, manufactures, and retails goods for tabletop and home, and is best known for handcrafted ceramic tableware and architectural tile in distinctive glazes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josef Ekberg</span> Swedish designer

Josef Ekberg was a Swedish designer who worked at the Gustavsberg Porcelain Factory from 1889 to 1917. He is known for his contributions to the Swedish Grace art movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franciscan Ceramics</span>

Franciscan Ceramics are ceramic tableware and tile products produced by Gladding, McBean & Co. in Los Angeles, California, US from 1934 to 1962, International Pipe and Ceramics (Interpace) from 1962 to 1979, and Wedgwood from 1979 to 1983. Wedgwood closed the Los Angeles plant, and moved the production of dinnerware to England in 1983. Waterford Glass Group plc purchased Wedgwood in 1986, becoming Waterford Wedgwood. KPS Capital Partners acquired all of the holdings of Waterford Wedgwood in 2009. The Franciscan brand became part of a group of companies known as WWRD, an acronym for "Wedgwood Waterford Royal Doulton." WWRD continues to produce the Franciscan patterns Desert Rose and Apple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California pottery</span> Pottery industry in state of California

California pottery includes industrial, commercial, and decorative pottery produced in the Northern California and Southern California regions of the U.S. state of California. Production includes brick, sewer pipe, architectural terra cotta, tile, garden ware, tableware, kitchenware, art ware, figurines, giftware, and ceramics for industrial use. Ceramics include terra cotta, earthenware, porcelain, and stoneware products.

Truda Carter (1890–1958), was a designer who, alongside her first husband John Adams, was associated with the Art Deco pottery that characterized Poole Pottery during the inter-war years of the twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ceramic art</span> Decorative objects made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery

Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take varied forms, including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is a visual art. While some ceramics are considered fine art, such as pottery or sculpture, most are considered to be decorative, industrial or applied art objects. Ceramic art can be created by one person or by a group, in a pottery or a ceramic factory with a group designing and manufacturing the artware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American art pottery</span>

American art pottery refers to aesthetically distinctive hand-made ceramics in earthenware and stoneware from the period 1870-1950s. Ranging from tall vases to tiles, the work features original designs, simplified shapes, and experimental glazes and painting techniques. Stylistically, most of this work is affiliated with the modernizing Arts and Crafts (1880-1910), Art Nouveau (1890–1910), or Art Deco (1920s) movements, and also European art pottery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millicent Taplin</span> British ceramics designer

Millicent (Millie) Jane Taplin (1902–1980) was a British designer and painter of ceramics who spent most of her career at Josiah Wedgwood and Sons (1917–1962). She was trained in painting by Alfred and Louise Powell, and supervised Wedgwood's ceramics painters. She became a designer of decorative patterns in 1929 and by the mid-to-late 1930s was one of the company's main designers, although she did not design pottery shapes. She was one of only two working-class women to become a successful ceramics designer before the Second World War. Her tableware designs were exhibited by Wedgwood at Grafton Galleries in London in 1936, and several of her designs are now on display at the V&A Museum. Her design "Strawberry Hill", with Victor Skellern, was awarded the Council of Industrial Design's Design of the Year Award in 1957.

References

  1. 1 2 Prestigious pottery maker closes, BBC News, 20 December 2006
  2. 'Poole Pottery - Carter & Company And Their Successors 1873-2011' 4th edition. L.Hayward (edited P. Atterbury). Richard Dennis, 1998.
  3. "Tree of Life | Massarella, Nicky (Ms) | Ford, Karen R. (Ms) | V&A Explore the Collections".
  4. Poole Pottery sells its history to safeguard firm's future [ dead link ], The Independent, 22 March 2004
  5. Town pottery shop forced to shut, BBC Regional News, 15 December 2006
  6. "Pottery shop to close after 140 years". BBC News. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  7. "Denby bolsters empire with Poole Pottery buy". The Independent. 18 June 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2016.