Royal Doulton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Royal Doulton Company is one of the world-renowned English companies producing tableware and collectables, with a history dating back to 1815. Operating originally in London, its reputation grew in the area known as The Potteries, where it was a relative latecomer compared to other leading names such as Spode, Wedgwood and Minton. Today, its products include dinnerware, giftware, cookware, porcelain, glassware, collectables, jewellery, linens, curtains, and lighting, among other items.
Its three key brands are Royal Doulton, Royal Albert, and Minton. Together, the three brands make up Doulton Home, which is now part of the Waterford Wedgwood group. Most of the pieces in these three brands are manufactured outside the United Kingdom, in the Far East and Indonesia.
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[edit] History of the Royal Doulton Company
The Royal Doulton Company began as a partnership between John Doulton, Martha Jones, and John Watts, with a factory at Vauxhall Walk, Lambeth, London. The business specialised in making stoneware articles, including decorative bottles and salt glaze sewer pipes. The company took the name Doulton in 1853.
By 1871, Henry Doulton, John’s son, had launched a studio at the Lambeth pottery, and offered work to designers and artists from a local art school. Their names included the Barlow family (Florence, Hannah, and Arthur), Frank Butler, Mark Marshall, Eliza Simmance, and George Tinworth. Then in 1882, Doulton purchased the small factory of Pinder, Bourne & Co, at Nile Street in Burslem, Staffordshire, which placed Doulton in the region known as The Potteries.
By this time Doulton had become one of the most popular brands of stoneware and ceramics, under the artistic direction of John Slater, who worked across a wide variety of figurines, vases, character jugs, and decorative pieces. Doulton products also came to the attention of the Royal family. In 1901 King Edward VII granted the Burslem factory the Royal Warrant, which allowed the business to adopt new markings and a new name, Royal Doulton. The company continued to add products during the first half of the 20th century while retaining its reputation as a prime manufacturer of fashionable and high-quality bone china.
The Lambeth factory closed in 1956 due to new clean air regulations that prevented the production of saltglaze in the urban environment. Following closure, all work was transferred to The Potteries.
On September 30, 2005, the Nile Street factory closed after being sold to developers. Some items are now made at the home of parent company Waterford Wedgwood in Barlaston, to the south of the Potteries Conurbation. Almost all other Doulton pieces are made in Indonesia, although there is a move to return production to England.[citation needed]
[edit] Trivia
An ongoing gag in the British sitcom Keeping up Appearances involves character Hyacinth Bucket constantly making reference to her Royal Doulton china - "With the hand-painted Periwinkles...".
