Royal Doulton is an English

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

and

home accessories Home accessories (also termed ''home decor'') are decorative and functional items used to enhance the aesthetic appeal and comfort of living spaces. These items are typically easy to replace, move, and rearrange, allowing for flexibility in interio ...

manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

, London, and later moving to

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

, in 1882 it opened a factory in

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Staffordshire, Hanley, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in ...

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

, in the centre of English pottery. From the start, the backbone of the business was a wide range of utilitarian wares, mostly

stoneware Stoneware is a broad class of pottery fired at a relatively high temperature, to be impervious to water. A modern definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire ...

s, 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 A royal warrant is a document issued by a monarch which confers rights or privileges on the recipient, or has the effect of law. Royal warrant may refer to: * Royal warrant of appointment, warrant to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a r ...

was given, Royal Doulton. It always made some more decorative wares, initially still mostly stoneware, and from the 1860s, the firm made considerable efforts to get a reputation for design, in which it was largely successful, as one of the first British makers of

art pottery 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 ...

.Godden, 149 Initially this was done through artistic stonewares made in Lambeth, but in 1882 the firm bought a Burslem factory, which was mainly intended for making

bone china Bone china is a type of vitreous, translucent pottery, the raw materials for which include bone ash, feldspathic material and kaolin. It has been defined as "ware with a translucent body" containing a minimum of 30% of phosphate derived from c ...

tablewares and decorative items. It was a latecomer in this market compared to firms such as

Royal Crown Derby Royal Crown Derby is the oldest or second oldest remaining English porcelain manufacturer (disputed by Royal Worcester, which claims 1751 as its year of establishment). Based in Derby, England, the company is particularly noted for its high-qu ...

Royal Worcester Royal Worcester is a porcelain brand based in Worcester, England. It was established in 1751 and is believed to be the oldest or second oldest remaining English porcelain brand still in existence today, although this is disputed by Royal Crown ...

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English China (material), fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons L ...

Spode Spode is an English brand of pottery and homewares produced in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Spode was founded by Josiah Spode (1733–1797) in 1770, and was responsible for perfecting two important techniques that were crucial to the worldwide su ...

and

Mintons 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, ...

, but made a place for itself in the later 19th century. Today Royal Doulton mainly produces

tableware Tableware items are the dishware and utensils used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. The term includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, serving utensils, and other items used for practical as well as decorative purposes. The ...

and figurines, but also cookware, glassware, and other home accessories such as

linens Linens, also referred to uncountably as linen, are fabric household goods intended for daily use, such as bedding, tablecloths, and towels. "Linens" may also refer to church linens, meaning the altar cloths used in church. History The earlies ...

, curtains and lighting. Three of its brands were Royal Doulton, Royal Albert, and (after a post-WWII merger)

. These brands are now owned by

WWRD Holdings Limited WWRD Holdings Limited is a company that was created by KPS Capital Partners in 2009 out of the remains of Irish firm Waterford Wedgwood plc, and it has been owned since 2015 by Finnish home products maker Fiskars. The company owns Waterford Cry ...

(

Waterford Crystal Waterford Crystal is an Irish manufacturer of crystal glassware, especially cut glass products. It is named after the city of Waterford in Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base on the edge of Waterford was cl ...

, Royal Doulton), based in

Barlaston Barlaston is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, halfway between Stoke-on-Trent and Stone. At the 2011 census, the population was 2,858. History Historic buildings St John's Church The old parish church of Saint John is site ...

near

. On 2 July 2015, the acquisition of WWRD by the Finnish company

Fiskars Corporation Fiskars Corporation (natively Fiskars Oyj Abp; formerly Fiskars Oy Ab until 1998) is a Finnish consumer goods company founded in 1649 in Fiskars, a locality in the town of Raseborg, Finland, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Helsinki. I ...

was completed.

History – 19th century

The Royal Doulton company began as a partnership between

John Doulton John Doulton (17 November 1793 – 26 May 1873) was an English businessman and manufacturer of pottery, a founder of the firm that later became known as ''Royal Doulton''. John Doulton married Jane Duneau, a widow from Bridgnorth in Shropshire, wh ...

, Martha Jones, and John Watts, as Doulton bought (with £100) an interest in an existing factory at Vauxhall Walk,

, London, where Watts was the foreman. They traded as Jones, Watts & Doulton from 1815 until Martha Jones left the partnership in 1820, when the trade name was changed to Doulton & Watts. The business specialised in making

salt glaze Salt-glaze or salt glaze pottery is pottery, usually stoneware, with a ceramic glaze of glossy, translucent and slightly orange-peel-like texture which was formed by throwing common salt into the kiln during the higher temperature part of the fi ...

articles, including utilitarian or decorative bottles, jugs and jars, much of it intended for inns and pubs. In 1826 they took over a larger existing pottery on Lambeth High Street. The company took the name Doulton & Co. in 1854 after the retirement of John Watts in 1853, and a merger with Henry Doulton and Co. (see below),Wood, 77 although the trading name of Doulton & Watts continued to be used for decades. For some of the 19th century there were three different businesses, run by the sons of John Doulton, and perhaps with cross-ownership, which later came back together by the end of the century.Grace's By 1897 the total employees exceeded 4,000.

Pipes and other utilitarian wares

Manufacturing of circular ceramic

sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewerage, sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged fro ...

pipes began in 1846, and was highly successful; Henry Doulton set up his own company specializing in this, Henry Doulton and Co., the first business to make these. This merged with the main business in 1854. His brother John Junior also later set up his own pipe-making business. Previously sewers were just channels made of brick, which began to leak as they aged. The

1846–1860 cholera pandemic The third cholera pandemic (1846–1860) was the third major outbreak of cholera originating in India in the 19th century that reached far beyond its borders, which researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) believe may have st ...

, and the tracing by Dr

John Snow John Snow (15 March 1813 – 16 June 1858) was an English physician and a leader in the development of anaesthesia and medical hygiene. He is considered one of the founders of modern epidemiology and early germ theory, in part because of hi ...

of the

1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak The Broad Street cholera outbreak (or Golden Square outbreak) was a severe outbreak of cholera that occurred in 1854 near Broad Street (now Broadwick Street) in Soho, London, England, during the worldwide 1846–1860 cholera pandemic. The Broa ...

in London to a water supply contaminated by sewage led to a huge programme of improving sewage disposal, and other forms of drainage using pipes. These and an expanding range of builder's and sanitary wares remained a bedrock of Doulton into the 20th century. Metal plumbing items such as taps and

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

baths were added to the range later. Kitchen stonewares such as storage jars and mixing bowls, and laboratory and manufacturing ceramics, were other long-standing specialities. Further facilities were set up for making these in Paisley in Scotland,

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire and then Worcestershire before bei ...

, St Helens near Liverpool, and

Rowley Regis Rowley Regis ( ) is a town and former municipal borough in Sandwell in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It forms part of the area immediately west of Birmingham known as the Black Country and encompasses the fou ...

in England, and eventually Paris.

Decorative wares

By the 1860s Henry Doulton became interested in more artistic wares than the utilitarian ceramics which had grown the business enormously. British stoneware had languished somewhat in artistic terms, although

and others continued to produce

jasperware Jasperware, or jasper ware, is a type of pottery first developed by Josiah Wedgwood in the 1770s. Usually described as stoneware, it has an unglazed matte "biscuit" finish and is produced in a number of different colours, of which the most com ...

and some other stonewares in a very refined style, competing with

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

. The Doulton wares went further back to earlier salt-glazed styles, with a varied glaze finish. This "gave stoneware an entirely new impetus, realizing the potential of the material". As the company became interested in diversifying from its utilitarian wares into more decorative objects, it developed a number of

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed Vitrification#Ceramics, nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids ...

and stoneware bodies. The so-called "Lambeth faience" (from 1872) was "a somewhat heavily potted

creamware Creamware is a cream-coloured refined earthenware with a lead glaze over a pale body, known in France as '' faïence fine'', in the Netherlands as ''Engels porselein'', and in Italy as ''terraglia inglese''.Osborne, 140 It was created about 175 ...

much used in decorative plaques and vases", often with

underglaze Underglaze is a method of decorating pottery in which painted decoration is applied to the surface before it is covered with a transparent ceramic glaze and fired in a kiln. Because the glaze subsequently covers it, such decoration is completely ...

painting. Other bodies were called "Impasto" (1879); "Silicon" (1880), "a vitrified unglazed stoneware decorated with coloured clays"; "Carrara" (1887), white earthenware, also used as architectural terracotta; "Marquetrie" (1887), "marbled clays in checker work", then glazed; "Chine" impressed with fabrics to texture the clay, these burnt away in the kiln. By 1871, Henry Doulton, John's son, launched a

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

at the Lambeth pottery, and offered work to designers and artists from the nearby

Lambeth School of Art Founded in 1854 as the Lambeth School of Art, the City and Guilds of London Art School is a small specialist art college located in central London, England. Originally founded as a government art school, it is now an independent, not-for-profit ...

. The first to be engaged was

George Tinworth George Tinworth (5 November 1843 – 11 September 1913) was an English ceramic artist who worked for the Doulton and Co., Doulton factory at Lambeth from 1867 until his death.'George Tinworth', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in ...

followed by artists such as the Barlow family ( Florence, Hannah, and Arthur), Frank Butler, Mark Marshall, Eliza Simmance and John Eyre. John Bennett was in charge of the "Lambeth faience" department until he emigrated to America in 1876, where he had success with his own pottery. Doulton was rather unusual in that most of the Lambeth studio pieces were signed by the artist or artists, usually with initials or a monogram incised on the base. Many are also dated. Until 1882, "every piece of the company's art stoneware was a unique item" but after that some pieces were made in batches, as demand grew. There were initial technical difficulties in producing the "art" pieces; at first they were fired in the open kiln with other wares, but later

saggar A saggar (also misspelled as sagger or segger) is a type of kiln furniture. It is a ceramic boxlike container used in the firing of pottery to enclose or protect ware being fired inside a kiln. The name may be a contraction of the word ''safeg ...

s were used. They were not especially profitable, sometimes not profitable at all, but there were huge profits in other parts of the business. Like other manufacturers, Doulton took great trouble with the wares submitted to international exhibitions, where it was often a medal winner. The period 1870–1900 saw "the great years of Doulton's art stoneware", which remains popular with collectors. In 1882, Doulton purchased the small factory of Pinder, Bourne & Co, at Nile Street in

, Staffordshire, which placed Doulton in the region known as

The Potteries The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Hanley, Staffordshire, Hanley, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, Stoke ( ...

. File:Jug (England), 1869–72 (CH 18609557) (cropped).jpg, Vase, 1869–72, salt-glazed Lambeth stoneware with incised and relief decoration File:Beaker vase MET DP704010 (cropped).jpg, Incised Lambeth stoneware by Hannah Barlow, 1874 File:Flask with Squirrels LACMA M.2001.97.2 (cropped).jpg, Flask with Squirrels, 1875, salt-glazed stoneware, Hannah Barlow, Lambeth File:Moon flask MET DT6044.jpg, Moon flask, , lead-glazed earthenware, transfer-printed and gilt File:Vase MET DP704012 (cropped).jpg, Lambeth stoneware vase, 1879, by Frank A. Butler File:Tankard (England), 1884 (CH 18482927) (cropped).jpg, Three-handled tankard, Lambeth stoneware, 1884 File:Teapot And Lid (England), 1887–1900 (CH 18802717) (cropped).jpg, Teapot in ''Marquetrie ware'', using different clays, stoneware, 1887–1900 File:Painted Vase, , Royal Doulton, part of World's Columbian Exposition display - Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) - DSC06657.JPG, Vase, , part of the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

display in Chicago File:William hodkinson per doulton & co., ltd., vaso in porcellana, staffordshire UK 1891-1902, 02.jpg, Bone china vase, Burslem, , by William Hodkinson File:Plate (AM 8535-1) (cropped).jpg, ''Laburnham'' pattern transfer-printed plate, typical of the middle-market bone china tableware made at Burslem File:Plate (AM 1972.107-1).jpg, Burslem bone china plate from

Captain Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – ) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–04 and the ''Terra Nova'' expedition of 1910–13. ...

's first expedition, marked ''"DISCOVERY" ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION 1901'' around a penguin

Architectural ceramics

Doulton also manufactured

architectural terracotta Architectural terracotta refers to a fired mixture of clay and water that can be used in a non-structural, semi-structural, or structural capacity on the exterior or interior of a building. Terracotta is an ancient building material that transla ...

(in fact usually stoneware), mainly at Lambeth, and would execute commissions for

monumental sculpture The term monumental sculpture is often used in art history and criticism, but not always consistently. It combines two concepts, one of function, and one of size, and may include an element of a third more subjective concept. It is often used fo ...

in terracotta. Their late Victorian catalogues contained a wide range of architectural elements with, for example, tall Tudor-style chimney pots in many different designs. The Tudor originals of these were built up in shaped brick, but Doultons supplied them in a single piece. There were ranges of small Gothic arches, columns and capitals. When the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

St. Alban's Church was built in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark, in 1887 with

Alexandra, Princess of Wales Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wif ...

as one of the driving forces, Doulton donated and manufactured an

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

, a

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

and a

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

. They were executed in

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

with glazed details to the design of Tinworth. The

Hotel Russell The Kimpton Fitzroy London is a historic five-star hotel, located on Russell Square, Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. From its opening in 1900 until 2018, it was known as the Hotel Russell. History The Hotel Russell was built in 1 ...

Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton (property developer), James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Mus ...

(1900) has a large facade in buff terracotta, including life-size statues of "British queens" by

Henry Charles Fehr Henry Charles Fehr FRBS (4 November 1867 – 13 May 1940) was a British monumental and architectural sculptor active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He produced several notable public sculptures, war memorials and works fo ...

, sculpted coats of arms and other large ornamental elements. This was somewhat old-fashioned for 1900, and the new taste for

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

favoured the glazed white "Carrara" material, which remained popular through to the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

of the 1930s, often combined with bespoke decoration in bright colours, as at the

Turkey Cafe The Turkey Cafe is a building with a flamboyant Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style) facade in Granby Street, Leicester, Granby Street, Leicester, England. It was built in 1900 and is now a Grade II listed building, once again used as a cof ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, also of 1900.

William James Neatby William James Neatby (24 May 1860 – 20 April 1910), often W. J. Neatby, was an English architect, designer and artist. He is best known for his designs of architectural ceramics and was Doulton and Co.'s chief ceramic designer. His standout wor ...

was the Royal Doulton's chief designer from 1890 to 1901 and designed some of the finest

Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style) The Modern Style is a style of architecture, art, and design that first emerged in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom in the mid-1880s. It was the first Art Nouveau style worldwide, and it represents the evolution of ...

architectural ceramics and sculptures. Everard's Printing Works is a leading surviving example of an exterior in Doulton's Carrara

glazed architectural terra-cotta Glazed architectural terra cotta is a ceramic masonry building material used as a decorative skin. It featured widely in the 'terracotta revival' from the 1880s until the 1930s. It was used in the UK, United States, Canada and Australia and ...

. One of the largest schemes they made is , now in

Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge. History In ...

, given by Sir

Henry Doulton Sir Henry Doulton (25 July 1820 – 18 November 1897) was an English businessman, inventor and manufacturer of pottery, instrumental in developing the ceramics company of Royal Doulton. Life Born in Vauxhall, Henry was the second of the eight ch ...

for the International Exhibition of 1888. When the over life-size statue at the top was destroyed in a lightning strike in 1901, Doulton paid for a second hand-made statue to be produced. Sir Henry's

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

is another fine example of Doulton's exterior terracottas, as are the

pedimental sculpture Pedimental sculpture is a form of architectural sculpture designed for installation in the Tympanum (architecture), tympanum, the space enclosed by the architectural element called the pediment. Originally a feature of Ancient Greek architecture, ...

s for the department store

Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...

(1880s). File:Building on Corner of Lambeth High Street - geograph.org.uk - 168449.jpg, Doulton's former headquarters in Lambeth, showing off their

s File:DoultonFountain-2017 (cropped).jpg, ,

, 1888 File:St Albans Church Copenhagen pulpit (cropped).jpg, The pulpit in St. Alban's Anglican Church in Copenhagen, Denmark, donated and manufactured by Doulton File:West Norwood Cemetery – 20181026 121502 (45569936881).jpg, Sir

Mausoleum,

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...

, File:Maison Doulton.jpg, The "Maison Doulton" in

Maisons-Laffitte Maisons-Laffitte () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the northern Île-de-France Regions of France, region of France. It is a part of the affluent outer suburbs of northwestern Paris, from its ...

near Paris, File:Hotel Russell on Russell Square, London - April 2007.jpg,

, London, 1900 File:Putti 0225cc.jpg,

Putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University ...

on sculptural columns on the

facade File:Bâtiment Art Nouveau à Leicester.jpg, The

, 1900,

in "Carrara" white

glazed architectural terracotta Glazed architectural terra cotta is a ceramic masonry building material used as a decorative skin. It featured widely in the 'terracotta revival' from the 1880s until the 1930s. It was used in the UK, United States, Canada and Australia and ...

File:Broad Street -Edward Everard.jpg, Edward Everard printworks, Bristol, 1901, with "Carrara" white

File:Royal Doulton 4115068724 bef06891a2.jpg, Detail of frieze ''Pottery through the Ages'' for the exterior of Doulton's Lambeth headquarters, 1939, now V&A Museum By this time Doulton was popular for stoneware and ceramics, under the artistic direction of John Slater, who worked with

figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...

s, vases, character jugs, and decorative pieces designed by the prolific Leslie Harradine. Lambeth continued to make

studio pottery Studio pottery is pottery made by professional and amateur ceramists working alone or in small groups, making unique items or short runs, especially those that are not intended for daily use as crockery. Typically, all stages of manufacture are ...

in small quantities per design, often in stoneware and typically ornamental forms like vases, while Burslem made larger quantities of more middle market bone china tablewares and figures. By 1904 over 1,200 people were employed at Burslem alone. The retirement and death of Sir Henry Doulton, both in 1897, led to the company going public at the start of 1899.

20th century

In 1901

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

awarded the Burslem factory the

Royal Warrant A royal warrant is a document issued by a monarch which confers rights or privileges on the recipient, or has the effect of law. Royal warrant may refer to: * Royal warrant of appointment, warrant to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a r ...

, allowing that part of the business to adopt new markings and a new name, Royal Doulton. The bathroom ceramics and other utilitarian wares initially continued to be branded Doulton and Co. The company added products during the first half of the 20th century, and the tableware and decorative wares tended to shift from stonewares to high-quality

. Figurines in fashionable styles became increasingly important, for example a series of young girls in bathing costumes, in a mild version of

. Figures continued to be important throughout the 20th century, but the peak of quality in modelling and painting is generally thought to have been between the world wars. The well-known artist

Frank Brangwyn Sir Frank William Brangwyn (12 May 1867 – 11 June 1956) was a Welsh artist, painter, watercolourist, printmaker, illustrator and designer. Brangwyn worked in a wide range of artistic fields. As well as paintings and drawings, he produc ...

designed a pattern for a dinner service in 1930 (see gallery), which continued to be made for some time. He created the design, but specified that the factory painters actually decorating the pieces be allowed some freedom in interpreting his designs. 1938, Doulton acquired the works of George Skey and Co. in Tamworth, Staffordshire, which had been producing drain pipes, chimney pots and chemical stoneware. Doulton modified the factory to produce a range of technical ceramics, including porcelain insulators, chemical porcelain, grinding media and for other applications. A high voltage laboratory for the testing of insulators was subsequently built. The headquarters building and factory of Royal Doulton were in Lambeth in London, on the south bank of the Thames. This

building was designed by T.P.Bennett. In 1939

Gilbert Bayes Gilbert William Bayes (4 April 1872 – 10 July 1953) was an English sculptor. His art works varied in scale from medals to large architectural clocks, monuments and equestrian statues and he was also a designer of some note, creating chess piec ...

created ceramic relief friezes that showed the history of pottery through the ages. In 1963, a ceramic filter company Aerox Ltd., of

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, was acquired and subsequently integrated with the water filter division of Doulton Industrial Porcelains. Following various mergers and acquisitions over the years this company still exists, and under the name Doulton., but is no longer connected to Royal Doulton. In 1969 Doulton bought

Beswick 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 ...

, long a specialist in figurines, mostly of animals, including some

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Heelis (; 28 July 186622 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( ), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' ...

characters. Their factory in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent was used to make the popular "

Bunnykins Royal Doulton Bunnykins tableware and figurines are popular ceramic designs manufactured as nursery dishes and collectible figurines. The chinaware line originated with artwork by Sister Mary Barbara Bailey (née Barbara Vernon Bailey), the dau ...

" range of anthropomorphic rabbits, originally produced in 1936 to designs by the then managing director's daughter, Sister Barbara Bailey, who was a nun. 1972 Doulton was taken over by Pearson and Son Ltd., and a year later restructured the Doulton group into five divisions: Royal Doulton Tableware; Doulton Glass Industries; Doulton Engineering Group; Doulton Sanitaryware and Doulton Australia. The whole English pottery industry was losing ground in the post-war period, and Doulton's purchases of other companies was not enough to stem decline. The Lambeth factory closed in 1956 due to clean air regulations preventing urban production of salt glaze. Following closure, work was transferred to

. The factory building was demolished in 1978 and the friezes transferred to the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

. The office building in Black Prince Road survives, complete with a frieze of potters and Sir Henry Doulton over the original main entrance, executed by Tinworth. In 1980 Pearson purchased Fairey Holdings, which historically had been well known for its

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

. In the next few years some parts of Doulton were spun off, including the glass and sanitaryware divisions, Doulton Engineering (brought under the management of Fairey, with the insulator division merged with Allied Insulators in 1985). The Churchbank factory was closed in 2000. The Beswick factory in Longton closed and the Doulton factory in Baddeley Green closed in 2003. The Nile Street factory in Burslem closed on 30 September 2005, and was demolished in 2014.

Corporate

In 1971, S. Pearson & Son Ltd, a subsidiary of the Pearson industrial conglomerate acquired Doulton & Co. Pearson & Son owned Allied English Potteries and merged operations into Doulton & Co. All brands from Allied English Potteries and Doulton & Co. Ltd. including Royal Doulton, Minton, Beswick, Dunn Bennett, Booths, Colclough, Royal Albert, Royal Crown Derby, Paragon, Ridgway, Queen Anne, Royal Adderley and Royal Adderley Floral were moved under the umbrella of Royal Doulton Tableware Ltd. Royal Doulton Tableware Ltd was a subsidiary of Doulton & Co. Ltd, itself a subsidiary of the Pearson Group Doulton & Co. became Royal Doulton plc in 1993. Pearson spun off Royal Doulton in 1993.

Waterford Wedgwood Waterford Wedgwood plc was an Irish holding company for a group of firms that specialized in the manufacture of high-quality porcelain, bone china and glass products, mostly for use as tableware or home decor. The group was dominated by Irish bu ...

completed a takeover of Royal Doulton in 2005, acquiring all assets and brands. Parts of the business were progressively sold off. The sanitaryware division was bought by Stelrad. In 1983 David Edward Dunn Johnson bought the hotelware division of Royal Doulton, now renamed

Steelite Steelite International is a British ceramics manufacturer headquartered in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. They specialise in alumina-strengthened vitreous tableware for the hospitality industry. The company had a turnover of £117 m ...

and, as of 2022, was still operating in Stoke-on-Trent.Steelite International, Orme Street, Burslem
thepotteries.org. Retrieved 19 October 2018.A Journey Through The Years
www.steelite.com. Retrieved 19 October 2018. In 1995 Royal Doulton commissioned a new factory just outside

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

; this division is called PT Doulton. By 2009 the factory employed 1,500 persons producing bone china under both Wedgwood and Royal Doulton brands. Annual production was reported to be 5 to 7 million pieces. In order to reduce costs the majority of production of both brands has been transferred to Indonesia, with only a small number of high-end products continuing to be made in the UK. Royal Doulton Ltd., along with other Waterford Wedgwood companies, went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

on 5 January 2009. Royal Doulton is now part of

. On 11 May 2015,

Fiskars Fiskars Corporation (natively Fiskars Oyj Abp; formerly Fiskars Oy Ab until 1998) is a Finnish consumer goods company founded in 1649 in Fiskars, Finland, Fiskars, a locality in the town of Raseborg, Finland, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) wes ...

, a Finnish maker of home products, agreed to buy 100% of the holdings of WWRD. On 2 July 2015 the acquisition of WWRD by Fiskars Corporation was completed including the brands Waterford, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton, Royal Albert and Rogaška. The acquisition was approved by the US antitrust authorities.

Cultural references

* In the comedy television series ''

Keeping Up Appearances ''Keeping Up Appearances'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke. It originally aired on BBC1 from 1990 to 1995. The central character is an eccentric and snobbish middle-class social climber, Hyacinth Bucket ( Patricia Ro ...

'' her Royal Doulton china "with the hand-painted periwinkles" was frequently mentioned with great pride by the main character, Hyacinth Bucket. * A Royal Doulton bowl features prominently in the 2018 film

Mary Poppins Returns ''Mary Poppins Returns'' is a 2018 American musical fantasy comedy film directed by Rob Marshall, with a screenplay written by David Magee and a story by Magee, Marshall, and John DeLuca. Loosely based on the book series ''Mary Poppins'' by P ...

, and is the basis for the song "The Royal Doulton Music Hall". * In the James Bond 007 franchise films, Judi Dench's M character has a Royal Doulton's "Jack the Bulldog" figurine on her desk at MI6.

Notable designers

Hannah and Florence Barlow The sisters Hannah Bolton Barlow (born 2 November 1851 in Church End House, Little Hadham, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England; died 15 November 1916) and Florence Elizabeth Barlow (born Bishop's Stortford) were artists who painted pott ...

, two painter sisters * Leslie Harradine *

Agnete Hoy Agnete Hoy (2 November 1914 – 1 April 2000), also known as Anita Hoy, was an English artist Pottery, potter who managed successfully to create a bridge between industrial ceramics and work of the studio potters. Having studied in Copenhagen she ...

Charles Noke Charles John Noke (1858 Worcester - 27 May 1941), was an English pottery designer and artist who primarily worked for Royal Doulton. History He is noted for producing many different ranges of pottery using differing techniques and was also hugel ...

Gallery

File:Jug (AM 1998.5.1-2).jpg, Lambeth stoneware commemorative mug for the

Coronation of Edward VII The coronation of Edward VII and his wife, Alexandra, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 9 August 1902. Originally scheduled for 26 June of that year, the ceremony h ...

, 1902 File:DoultonHiggins1.JPG, Vase, Lambeth File:The Captain, a figurine by Royal Doulton.jpg, Modern figure, ''The Captain'' File:Royal Doulton Ruby Rose Teapot.jpg, Ruby Rose Teapot

Notes and references

References

* Battie, David, ed., ''Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Porcelain'', 1990, Conran Octopus, *Furnival, W.J., ''Leadless decorative tiles, faience, and mosaic'', 1904, W.J. Furnival, Stone, Staffordshire, reprint , 9781176325630
Google books
*Godden, Geoffrey, ''An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of British Pottery and Porcelain'', 1992, Magna Books, *"Grace's": "Doulton & Co."
''Grace's Guide to British industrial history''
*Hughes, G Bernard, ''The Country Life Pocket Book of China'', 1965, Country Life Ltd *Wood, Frank L., ''The World of British Stoneware: Its History, Manufacture and Wares'', 2014, Troubador Publishing Ltd, , 9781783063673

External links

Official website

Examples in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
{{Stoke-on-Trent Ceramics manufacturers of England English brands English pottery Figurine manufacturers Kitchenware brands Staffordshire pottery Waterford Wedgwood Companies based in Stoke-on-Trent Manufacturing companies established in 1815 1815 establishments in England Privately held companies of the United Kingdom British royal warrant holders Fiskars British porcelain Art pottery Manufacturer of architectural terracotta