| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Pottery |
| Founded | 1809 |
| Headquarters | Denby, Derbyshire, England |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Tableware, kitchenware |
| Website | www.Denby.co.uk |
Denby Pottery Company Ltd is a British manufacturer of pottery, named after the village of Denby in Derbyshire where it is based.
Contents |
The pottery at Denby was founded on the estate of William Drury-Lowe in 1809 as a manufacturer of stoneware bottles.[1] It was run by Joseph Jager in partnership with Robert Charles George Brohier; the partnership was dissolved in 1814.[1] By this time, clay from a deposit on the land was already in use at the Belper Pottery. At the beginning of 1815 William Bourne of the Belper Pottery and his sons William, John and Joseph took a 21-year lease on Brohier and Jager's factory.[2] Joseph Bourne ran the works at Denby and Belper in tandem until 1834, when he closed down the Belper pottery and moved its equipment and workforce to Denby. Bourne later took over the Codnor Park and Shipley Potteries, and merged them into the Denby works in a similar manner. Joseph Bourne took his son Joseph Harvey Bourne into partnership, and the company became known as Joseph Bourne and Sons, a name it kept even after the death of Joseph Bourne in 1860.
Using a new patent process for drying slip invented by Needham and Kite of Vauxhall, the pottery produced at least 25 tons of workable clay each day. In the nineteenth century most of the ware produced was salt-glazed stoneware. Bourne patented improved kilns for stoneware in 1823 and 1848.[3] The pottery produced a wide range of utilitarian stoneware products including telegraph insulators, ink bottles, pickle and marmalade jars, spirit and liquor bottles, foot warmers, churns, mortars and pestles, pipkins, feeding-bottles, pork-pie moulds, druggists' shop-jars, snuff-jars, spirit-barrels, pudding-moulds, and water filters. They also made more decorative "hunting jugs" sprigged with moulded decorations of huntsmen, windmills, men smoking or beehives; sometimes the handle was in the form of a greyhound. They also produced terracotta goods, both practical and decorative.[4]
The company benefited greatly from its transport links into Derby and beyond, particularly when the Midland Railway opened its Ripley Branch. It had a siding at Denby Wharf (the terminus of the Little Eaton Gangway) approximately opposite to the factory. Each week around three or four vans would be dispatched to Chaddesden sidings (near Derby station) where they would be connected to an express to St Pancras in London and the company's warehouse at the Granary.[5]
The company, whose name is now principally associated with stoneware, initially produced bottles and jars, before specialising in kitchenware and, eventually, in tableware, for which it is best known today.
In 1987 the company was taken over by the Coloroll Group. After Coloroll went into receivership in 1990, Denby was subject to a management buyout, and was floated in 1994.[6]
In the early twentyfirst century Denby expanded its use of materials to include glass (wine glasses, tumblers and bowls) and metal (cutlery and cooking utensils). It also introduced fine dining ranges in fine porcelain and bone china. These additions to the range have little or no colour and decoration, in contrast to most of the stoneware ranges, which Denby continues to produce in strong colours and intricate designs.
| Name | Key Features | Launched | Discontinued? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amethyst | Purple and Grey, Geometric | 2010 | No |
| Applemouse | Blue / Pink (Children's set) | 1985 | Yes (1985) |
| Arabesque | Brown, Circular geometric patterning | 1964 | Yes (1984) |
| Autumn Gold | Orange-Red | 1988 | Yes (1989) |
| Avignon | Floral | 1975 | Yes (19??) |
| Azure | Turquoise | 2006 | No |
| Bakewell | Brown | 1980 | Yes (1987) |
| Baroque | Indigo | 1992 | Yes (2000) |
| Biarritz | White and Light Blue | 1970 | Yes (19??) |
| Blue Dawn | Light Blue | 1985 | Yes (1987) |
| Blue Jetty | Blue on White | 2002 | Yes (2009) |
| Blue Linen | Light Blue | 2005 | Yes (2008) |
| Bokhara | Dark Blue | 1964 | Yes (1977) |
| Boston | Dark Blue | 1994 | Yes (2005) |
| Boston Spa | Dark Blue; complementary range to Boston | 1997 | Yes (2001) |
| Brittany | Pink floral on White | 1982 | Yes (19??) |
| Calm | Green | 2001 | Yes (2005) |
| Camelot | Green | 1986 | Yes (1993) |
| Canterbury | Orange | 1969 | Yes (1981) |
| Caramel / Caramel Stripes | Yellow / Orange | 2006 | On Notice (2012) |
| Castile | Blue | 1975 | Yes (1987) |
| Chantilly | Brown | 1982 | Yes (1985) |
| Chatsworth | Blue and White | 1976 | Yes (1982) |
| Chevron | Dark Green on White | 1962 | Yes (1977) |
| Chiltern | White and Brown | 1975 | Yes (1976) |
| China | Bone China | 2007 | No |
| Chorus | Biege | 1987 | Yes (1990) |
| Cinnamon | Brown and Cream | 2001 | Yes (2007) |
| Colonial Blue | Light Blue on White | 1984 | Yes (2000) |
| Conifer | White, Floral | 1961 | Yes (1967) |
| Cotswold | Brown and White | 1973 | Yes (1984) |
| Cottage Blue | Dark Blue on Cream | 1930 | Yes (1983) |
| Country Cuisine | Light Brown with Dark Brown edging on White | 1982 | Yes (1989) |
| Damask | Floral on Salmon | 1991 | Yes (1996) |
| Dauphine | Floral on White | 1982 | Yes (1987) |
| Daybreak | Floral | 1983 | Yes (2000) |
| Deauville | Green on White | 1970 | Yes (1976) |
| Decoy Duck | Duck patterning on Brown / White | 1987 | Yes (1989) |
| Dovedale | Sky Blue | 1983 | Yes (1987) |
| Drama Cream | Dark Blue and Dark Cream | 2005 | Yes (2007) |
| Echo | Blue with White edging | 1963 | Yes (1976) |
| Eclipse | Black and White | 1957 | Yes (19??) |
| Encore | Floral on White | 1984 | Yes (1998) |
| Energy | Green and Cream | 1999 | Yes (2008) |
| Energy Leaf | Cream with Leaf patterning; complementary range to Energy | 1999 | Yes (2007) |
| Falstaff | Purple with Floral Patterning on White | 1971 | Yes (1976) |
| Fire | Orange / Brown / Green on White | 2004 | No |
| File Chilli | Geometric patterned complementary range to Fire | 2004 | No |
| Fjord | Grey and Green | 197? | Yes (1980) |
| Flavours | Multiple pastel colours; budget range | 2004 | Yes (2006) |
| Greenwheat | Floral on Green and White | 1952 | Yes (1977) |
| Greenwich | Dark Green on White | 1994 | No |
| Greenwich Accent | Short-lived pattern variant of Greenwich | 1997 | Yes (2001) |
| Greystone | Brownish-grey on White | 1983 | Yes (1995) |
| Gypsy | Pink Floral on White | 1971 | Yes (1984) |
| Halo | Black and Grey speckled | 2010 | No |
| Harlequin | Red, Green and Blue (all combinations) | 1992 | Yes (2004) |
| Homestead Brown | Brown exteriors with turquoise interiors; plates are all-turquoise | 1948 | Yes (1984) |
| Images | Floral on Cream | 1987 | Yes (1993) |
| Imperial Blue | Dark Blue on White | 1984 | No |
| Jet | Black on White or Grey on White | 2004 | No |
| Jet Dots | Green and Black large-dotted patterned complementary range to Jet; replaced by Jet Skyline | 2005 | Yes (2009) |
| Jet Skyline | Green and Black smalled-dotted patterned complementary range to Jet; supersedes Jet Dots | 2009 | No |
| Jet Stripes | Green and Black striped patterned complementary range to Jet | 2005 | No |
| Jewel | Bone china; green patterned variant of China | 2007 | Yes (2009) |
| Juice | Green, Yellow or Blue with Brown edging | 1998 | Yes (2005) |
| Kashmir | Grey on White | 1988 | Yes (1990) |
| Light and Shade | Brown or White; budget range | 2005 | Yes (2006) |
| Linen | Cream on White | 2004 | No |
| Lorraine | Blue Floral on White | 2005 | Yes (2006) |
| Luxor | Light Brown or Light Blue on White | 1995 | Yes (2006) |
| Madrigal | Cream with White and Dark Blue edging | 1978 | Yes (1984) |
| Mandarin | Blue Floral on White | 1991 | Yes (1995) |
| Manor Green | Plain Green or Green on White | 1930 | Yes (1983) |
| Maplewood | Floral on Light Brown | 1984 | Yes (1989) |
| Marrakesh | Brown and Grey with abstract patterning, on White | 1992 | Yes (2002) |
| Medici | Minimal patterning, on White | 1975 | Yes (1976) |
| Melody | Floral on White | 1980 | Yes (1982) |
| Memories | Floral on Cream | 1979 | Yes (1987) |
| Mercury | Dark Green on White | 1988 | Yes (1991) |
| Merlot | Burgundy on White | 2007 | Yes (2010) |
| Metz | Blue on Green, Green on Blue, Blue on White (accent range) | 1996 | Yes (2006) |
| Midnight | Blue with Blue patterning | 1983 | Yes (1996) |
| Minstrel | Yellow / Orange floral on White | 1971 | Yes (1977) |
| Mist | Chalk Blue on White | 2008 | No |
| Mist Falls | Pale Blue on White; complementary range to Mist | 2008 | No |
| Natural Blue | Blue on White | 200? | No |
| Natural Pearl | Blue on White | 200? | On Notice (2012) |
| Normandy | Pink Floral on White | 1982 | Yes (1985) |
| Oberon | Dark Green on Cream; some patterning | 1986 | Yes (1987) |
| Ode | Yellow and White | 1967 | Yes (1977) |
| Oyster | White with Black patterning | 2007 | Yes (2010) |
| Oyster Strands | Black on White / White on Black; complementary range to Oyster | 2007 | Yes (2010) |
| Pampas | Brown on White | 1987 | Yes (1993) |
| Parisienne | Olive Green on White | 1991 | Yes (1993) |
| Potters Wheel | Rust Red on White; Yellow, Green and Blue colour variants exist | 1974 | Yes (1986) |
| Praline | Light and Dark Brown (speckled) on White | 2011 | No |
| Provence | Brown on White | 1982 | Yes (1986) |
| Pure Green | Pastel Green on White; 200th Anniversary Pattern | 2008 | Yes (2008) |
| Reflections | Floral on Light Blue | 1985 | Yes (1989) |
| Reflex | Blue with Blue patterning on White | 1999 | Yes (2006) |
| Regatta | Dark Blue with Dark Green on White | 1999 | Yes (2006) |
| Regency Green | Green on White | 1984 | No |
| Rochester | Green and White | 1976 | Yes (1983) |
| Romance | Blue / Floral on white | 1980 | Yes (198?) |
| Romany | Brown | 1982 | Yes (198?) |
| Rondo | Brown with Green edging | 1976 | Yes (1984) |
| Russet | Dark Brown on Stone White | 1976 | Yes (19??) |
Hopewood, Irene. Denby pottery, 1809-1997: dynasties and designers (ISBN 0903685523)