Staffordshire Pottery

The generic term for Staffordshire pottery, one of the well known branches of British pottery making is Staffordshire potteries and it refers to an industrial belt made up of 6 towns – Longton, Fenton, Stoke, Hanley, Burslem and Tunstall. All of these towns taken together constitute Staffordshire’s Stoke on Trent. Quite a number of British schools of pottery owe their origin to the Staffordshire industrial belt around the same time of 17th century and the reason was perhaps the local and abundant availability of coal, lead, salt and clay.

In fact this industrial belt turned into a buzzing and budding hub of ceramic production at the time of the Restoration and Augustan periods. The place became dotted with and renowned for hundreds of companies which were manufacturers of industrial or decorative/fancy items made of ceramic.

Heron Cross Pottery

Two brothers – Thomas Hines and William Hines established in 1876 the Heron Cross Pottery on a site which formerly served as a colliery in a street eponymously called Hines Street – of course the name of the street succeeded the foundation of the Heron Cross Pottery. The company was bought out by Grimwades in 1907.

Till the 20th century and well into it, Heron Cross pottery was famous and synonymous with superior quality ivory and porcelain wares which were opaque. The company was going great guns till the War undid everything and the British government took over the building and used it as storage haunt for land mines and bully beef.

The company was given a fresh lease of life by Frank William Ridge senior who bought out the company in 1961 and the Ridge family is now the sole owner of Heron Cross pottery till date. In 1995 Christopher Ridge took over the control of the company and he also happens to be the current owner.

Though Staffordshire pottery rose into eminence only in 1700 or 1800, history tells us that it had been a pottery producing belt of vast significance for centuries and centuries. Some of the more famous Staffordshire pottery companies are Twyford, Doulton, Aynsley, Minton, Spode and Wedgewood.