Royal Doulton

Royal Doultonis an Englishceramicandhome accessoriesmanufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally inVauxhall,London, and later moving toLambeth,in 1882 it opened a factory inBurslem,Stoke-on-Trent,in the centre of English pottery. From the start, the backbone of the business was a wide range of utilitarian wares, mostlystonewares,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 markedDoulton & Co.,then from 1901, when aroyal warrantwas given, Royal Doulton.

Royal Doulton

Industry	Pottery
Predecessors	Jones, Watts & Doulton (1815) Doulton & Watts (1820) Doulton & Co. (1853)
Founded	1815(1815)
Founders	John Doulton Martha Jones John Watts
Headquarters	Stoke-on-Trent , England
Key people	Henry Doulton
Products	Ceramics,home accessories
Owner	Fiskars
Parent	WWRD Holdings Limited
Website	royaldoulton.com

Salt-glazed stoneware vase, 1874, incised decoration byHannah Barlowin Lambeth

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 ofart pottery.Initially this was done through artistic stonewares made in Lambeth, but in 1882 the firm bought a Burslem factory, which was mainly intended for makingbone chinatablewares and decorative items. It was a latecomer in this market compared to firms such asRoyal Crown Derby,Royal Worcester,Wedgwood,SpodeandMintons,but made a place for itself in the later 19th century. Today Royal Doulton mainly producestablewareand figurines, but also cookware, glassware, and other home accessories such aslinens,curtains and lighting.

Three of its brands were Royal Doulton, Royal Albert, and (after a post-WWII merger)Mintons.These brands are now owned byWWRD Holdings Limited(Waterford Crystal,Wedgwood,Royal Doulton), based inBarlastonnearStoke-on-Trent.On 2 July 2015, the acquisition of WWRD by theFinnishcompanyFiskars Corporationwas completed.

History – 19th century

Decorated lavatory, late 19th century

The Royal Doulton company began as a partnership betweenJohn Doulton,Martha Jones, and John Watts, as Doulton bought (with £100) an interest in an existing factory at Vauxhall Walk,Lambeth,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 makingsalt glazestonewarearticles, 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 nameDoulton & Co.in 1854 after the retirement of John Watts in 1853,and a merger with Henry Doulton and Co. (see below),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.By 1897 the total employees exceeded 4,000.

Pipes and other utilitarian wares

Manufacturing of circular ceramicsewagepipes 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. The1846–1860 cholera pandemic,and the tracing by DrJohn Snowof the1854 Broad Street cholera outbreakin 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 andcast ironbaths 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 inPaisleyin Scotland,Smethwick,St Helens near Liverpool,andRowley Regisin England, and eventually Paris.

Decorative wares

Lambeth salt-glazed stoneware byGeorge Tinworth,1876

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, althoughWedgwoodand others continued to producejasperwareand some other stonewares in a very refined style, competing withporcelain.The Doulton wares went further back to earliersalt-glazedstyles, 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 ofearthenwareand stoneware bodies. The so-called "Lambeth faience" (from 1872) was "a somewhat heavily pottedcreamwaremuch used in decorative plaques and vases ",often withunderglazepainting.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 astudioat the Lambeth pottery, and offered work to designers and artists from the nearbyLambeth School of Art.The first to be engaged wasGeorge Tinworthfollowed by artists such as the Barlow family (Florence, Hannah,and Arthur), Frank Butler, Mark Marshall, Eliza Simmance andJohn Eyre.John Bennettwas 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 latersaggarswere 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 inBurslem,Staffordshire, which placed Doulton in the region known asThe Potteries.

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  Vase, 1869–72, salt-glazed Lambeth stoneware with incised and relief decoration
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  Incised Lambeth stoneware byHannah Barlow,1874
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  Flask with Squirrels, 1875, salt-glazed stoneware,Hannah Barlow,Lambeth
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  Moon flask,c. 1878–82,lead-glazed earthenware, transfer-printed and gilt
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  Lambeth stoneware vase, 1879, by Frank A. Butler
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  Three-handled tankard, Lambeth stoneware, 1884
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  Teapot inMarquetrie ware,using different clays, stoneware, 1887–1900
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  Bone china vase, Burslem,c. 1890s,by William Hodkinson
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  Laburnhampattern transfer-printed plate, typical of the middle-market bone china tableware made at Burslem
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  Burslem bone china plate fromCaptain Scott's first expedition, marked"DISCOVERY" ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION 1901around a penguin

Architectural ceramics

Frieze and walls inDunedin Railway Station,New Zealand, 1906

Doulton also manufacturedarchitectural terracotta(in fact usually stoneware), mainly at Lambeth, and would execute commissions formonumental sculpturein terracotta.Their late Victorian catalogues contained a wide range of architectural elements with, for example, tall Tudor-style chimney pots in many different designs. TheTudor originals of thesewere built up in shaped brick, but Doultons supplied them in a single piece.There were ranges of small Gothic arches, columns and capitals.

When theAnglicanSt. Alban's Churchwas built inCopenhagen,Denmark, in 1887 withAlexandra, Princess of Walesas one of the driving forces, Doulton donated and manufactured analtarpiece,apulpitand afont.They were executed interracottawith glazed details to the design of Tinworth.

TheHotel RussellinRussell Square(1900) has a large facade in buff terracotta, including life-size statues of "British queens" byHenry Charles Fehr,sculpted coats of arms and other large ornamental elements. This was somewhat old-fashioned for 1900, and the new taste forArt Nouveaufavoured the glazed white "Carrara" material, which remained popular through to theArt Decoof the 1930s, often combined with bespoke decoration in bright colours, as at theTurkey CafeinLeicester,also of 1900.William James Neatbywas the Royal Doulton's chief designer from 1890 to 1901 and designed some of the finestModern Style (British Art Nouveau style)architectural ceramics and sculptures.Everard's Printing Worksis a leading surviving example of an exterior in Doulton's Carraraglazed architectural terra-cotta.

One of the largest schemes they made isthe Doulton Fountain,now inGlasgow Green,given by SirHenry Doultonfor theInternational 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'smausoleumis another fine example of Doulton's exterior terracottas, as are thepedimental sculpturesfor the department storeHarrods(1880s).

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  Doulton's former headquarters in Lambeth, showing off theirarchitectural terracottas
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  The Doulton Fountain,Glasgow Green,1888
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  The pulpit inSt. Alban's Anglican Churchin Copenhagen, Denmark, donated and manufactured by Doulton
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  SirHenry DoultonMausoleum,West Norwood Cemetery,c. 1897
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  The "Maison Doulton" inMaisons-Laffittenear Paris,c. 1880
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  Hotel RussellonRussell Square,London, 1900
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  Puttion sculptural columns on theHotel Russellfacade
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  TheTurkey CafeinLeicester,1900,Art Nouveauin "Carrara" whiteglazed architectural terracotta
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  Edward Everard printworks, Bristol, 1901, with "Carrara" whiteglazed architectural terracotta
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  Detail of friezePottery through the Agesfor 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 ofJohn Slater,who worked withfigurines,vases, character jugs, and decorative pieces designed by the prolificLeslie Harradine.Lambeth continued to makestudio potteryin 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

"Waratah"pattern, after 1922, a local flower to appeal to the Australian market

In 1901King Edward VIIawarded the Burslem factory theRoyal Warrant,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-qualitybone china.Figurines in fashionable styles became increasingly important, for example a series of young girls in bathing costumes, in a mild version ofArt Deco.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.

Dinner plate from service designed byFrank Brangwyn,after 1930

The well-known artistFrank Brangwyndesigned 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. inTamworth,Staffordshire, which had been producing drain pipes, chimney pots and chemical stoneware. Doulton modified the factory to produce a range of technical ceramics, includingporcelain 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. ThisArt Decobuilding was designed by T.P.Bennett. In 1939Gilbert Bayescreated ceramic relief friezes that showed the history of pottery through the ages.

In 1963, aceramic filtercompany Aerox Ltd., ofStroud,Gloucester,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 boughtBeswick Pottery,long a specialist in figurines, mostly of animals, including someBeatrix Pottercharacters. Their factory inLongton,Stoke-on-Trent was used to make the popular "Bunnykins"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 toThe Potteries.The factory building was demolished in 1978 and the friezes transferred to theVictoria & Albert Museum.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 itsaircraft.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

Plate in the "Maori Art" pattern, Burslem

In 1971, S. Pearson & Son Ltd, a subsidiary of thePearson industrial conglomerateacquired 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 Wedgwoodcompleted 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 byStelrad.In 1983 David Edward Dunn Johnson bought the hotelware division of Royal Doulton, now renamedSteeliteand, as of 2022, was still operating in Stoke-on-Trent.

In 1995 Royal Doulton commissioned a new factory just outsideJakarta,Indonesia;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.

Derelict Royal Doulton factory on Nile Street, Burslem, UK

Royal Doulton Ltd., along with other Waterford Wedgwood companies, went intoadministrationon 5 January 2009. Royal Doulton is now part ofWWRD Holdings Limited.On 11 May 2015,Fiskars,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 seriesKeeping Up Appearancesher 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 filmMary Poppins Returns,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,two painter sisters
• Leslie Harradine
• Agnete Hoy
• Charles Noke

Gallery

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  Lambeth stoneware commemorative mug for theCoronation of Edward VII,1902
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  Vase, Lambeth
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  Modern figure,The Captain
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  Ruby Rose Teapot

See also

• List of Royal Doulton figurines
• List of Bunnykins figurines

References

• Battie, David,ed.,Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Porcelain,1990, Conran Octopus,ISBN1850292515
• Furnival, W.J.,Leadless decorative tiles, faience, and mosaic,1904, W.J. Furnival, Stone, Staffordshire, reprintISBN1176325639,9781176325630,Google books
• Godden, Geoffrey,An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of British Pottery and Porcelain,1992, Magna Books,ISBN1 85422 333 X
• "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,ISBN178306367X,9781783063673

External links

• Official website
• Examples in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa