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Dorothy
and Freda Doughty, in their time, probably did more to ensure the
future prosperity and stability of the Royal Worcester factory than
any other modellers.
 
Worcester
figurines for sale
Born
in San Remo, Italy, Dorothy and Freda were the daughters of Charles
Doughty, the English poet and traveller (The author of 'Arabia Deserta'and
the inspiration for Lawrence of Arabia ). They came to England when
the sisters were still children and settled in Sissinghurst in Kent.
Charles Doughty died in 1926 and the sisters, neither of whom had
married, carried on in the same house by themselves.
Freda ran childrens modelling lessons from the house and always
full of bright, hopefully and cheerful boys and girls, she would
frequently use them as live models for the ceramic figurines that
she fired in her own kiln.
Dorothy
studied at the Eastboune College of Art where she became a keen
naturalist and ornithologist and would paint plasticine models of
local bird life.
The
late 1920s were not a good time for the royal worcester and in an
attempt to reverse their financial difficulties they decided to
invest their efforts in the production of a brand new range of figurine
and animal studies. 
Following
the employment of various freelance modellers ( Baker, Bray, Cane,
Crofts, Lindner, Stabler, Williams and Freda Doughty ) an exhibition
to show off the new figures, was set up in a London Art Gallery.
Fredas models of young children at play were thought to be old fashioned,
both by modellers and the factory workforce and they looked out
of place compared to some of the more 'avant garde', almost abstract,
figures produced by many of the others at the show.
However,
people decide what they buy and they took Fredas little children
to their hearts and they sold in good numbers whilst many of the
other pieces remained unsold.
In
1934 Royal Worcesters art director, Mr Gimson, approached
fine art publisher Mr Alex Dickens about producing a series of service
or cabinet plates featuring images from the Audubon Birds of America
book. These were to be issued in a limited edition and although
a totally new venture for Worcester, it was a roaring success. Following
the Audubon plate series Mr Dickens approached the company about
producing a series of natural studies of American birds in their
native settings. The birds had to be realistic figures and he insisted
that they be done in a matt finish to maintain that realism. Mr
Gimson agreed with the idea and, even though the idea of a matt
finish was an unusual one, said that the factory could do it.
Freda
had released many more models, all eagerly accepted by the public,
and had become one of the factories most successful modellers. Her
output was almost entirely figures of small children at play but
as a very versatile sculptor Mr Gimson approached her about the
preliminary models in the American birds series.
Whether
or not Freda felt up to the task is not recorded but she introduced
Mr Gimson to her sister Dorothy explaining that her knowledge of
birds, artistic skills and memory for minor detail would make her
the obvious choice for the job.
Dorothy was not used to producing models for later ceramic production
and Freda had to show her how her own plasticine models were cut
up to produce the required moulds for slip casting and how the pieces
were then put together again. There was no thought, at this time,
of Dorothy making life studies and her first model of Redstarts
on Hemlock had to be produced from photographs of the birds and
flowers. The outcome was adequate but lacked the vibrancy of her
later models and only 66 pairs were ever made.
 Dorothy's
next pair of birds, American Goldfinches on Thistles, were an improvement,
250 pairs were made and they were good enough to make Mr Gimson
and Alex Dickens continue with the series. However, it quickly became
apparent to Dorothy that the slip casting method of manufacture,
while ideal for the birds themselves, had its limitations when used
for the delicate flowers and foliage that had to accompany them.
Dorothy was on a steep learning curve and spent a great deal of
time at the factory watching and talking to the craftsmen there.
The answer to her problem came when she met Antonio Vassalo, a Maltese
craftsman who was turning out beautifully delicate little flowers
and leaves by hand moulding.
Antonio
was the only person at the factory capable of making these little
masterpieces and Mr Gimson was reluctant to give his services over
to Dorothy's line of birds but he recognised the importance of the
series and eventually agreed. A new workshop was set up and a group
of new trainees employed to learn his techniques and Dorothy’s
imagination and artistic talents were free to go on to greater heights.
Her next models Bluebirds on Apple Blossom and others were produced
in ever greater detail and and it took all the skills of one of
Worcester’s finest artists, Harry Davis, to come up with the
colour combinations that would fire to the right blend of tones.
Three
other pairs of birds were introduced before the start of the war,
each more intricate and realistic than the last. Each set was limited
to 500 pairs and they were selling well. Many of them to American
natural history museums who were to build up complete sets of her
works as the years passed. The birds were very expensive, the manufacturing
costs were high because of their complexity and there were, obviously,
only a limited number of units to spread this cost over but the
idea of having a limited edition issue was appealing to the public
and the high cost may have even been welcomed as a valuable part
of their exclusivity.
The
principals of the limited edition was being taken up in other areas
as well with models by Gertner, Lindner, Stabler and others all
being released, some to better affect than others.
Freda
was asked by Mr Gimson to produce one or more limited editions of
her child figures but Freda steadfastly refused. Her figures did
not have the 'specialist' appeal of most of the others concerned
and she wanted her children to be affordable and available to everybody.
Limited editions may have been the money spinning idea of the moment
but mass appeal still very much had its place in the market.
The
onset of war practically wiped out normal production at the factory,
much of their time was diverted to war work and many of the staff
joined the armed forces but the Doughty birds continued, abate at
a slower rate, as sales to America were considered to be a valuable
part of the war effort. Dorothy also made the first four model 'standards'
for a series of British birds for the home market but these were
not put into production until some time after the end of the war.
Dorothy
was also heavily involved in war work of her own. She was an ambulance
driver and involved in secret experimental work with aircraft production
as well as producing the models for her birds. Details are not known
but she fell ill ( possibly Tuberculosis ?) during the early to
mid forties which necessitated a family move to the hills around
Falmouth in Cornwall. This affected Dorothy for some months but
she would not be swayed from her production of figures and had a
garden studio where the walls were lined with cages for the birds
she studied. Following the war she made the first of several field
trips to America where she would either wander around alone or join
organised birding tours, of which she was to build up a good fund
of funny stories that she would relate to the factory workers.
As
Dorothy's experience and confidence increased she seemed to delight
in making her models more and more complex, as if she was challenging
herself, and the factories craftsmen, to devise new techniques to
imitate natures subtleties. One particular model, the Magnolia Warblers,
were much bigger than usual and presented great problems in the
firing. Numerous attempts were made to produce the first 'standard'
but repeatedly all the major pieces would split in the kiln and
it was almost decided to scrap the project altogether as being impossible
to make. Bob Bradley, the master mould maker at the time, was given
permission to do whatever he thought prudent in one last attempt
to successfully fire them and this he did by cutting small holes
into the bigger pieces to allow the heat compressed air inside to
escape rather than split the pieces apart.
Many
of the models chosen were dictated by Alex Dickens who was the agent
in charge of their sales and two figures in particular were done
at his behest. One, a single Indigo Bunting on a twig was designed
to be simple and cheap to produce and sell. Dorothy rebelled against
this until a compromise was reached and she was allowed to put a
couple of small leaves onto the twig to add a little realism. The
model was not well accepted as part of the group and very few were
sold. The second was a pair group of Bob White Quail. Alex wanted
something that would appeal to a different market and as these were
popular with the American hunting fraternity he again wanted a simple
to produce and cheap to make figure. Again they failed miserably
but on this occasion it was probably Dorothy's fault. She wanted
to make them more natural and appealing and put a couple of babies
alongside the hen bird. The hunters did not like the idea of the
birds they shoot being shown with thier young and only a very small
number were made. These are still very beautiful figures and have
great appeal to the other bird lovers but they are, of course, exceedingly
rare.
The
study of the birds, the making of the original plasticine and acrylic
resin models, the cutting up and mould making, and all the other
myriad of processes that had to be gone through to produce the Doughty
birds meant that there was a long time delay between the first concept
and the release of a particular model. To help speed up this process
the factory brought in Ronald Van Ruyckevelt specifically to help
her. He would spend time with her in Falmouth and then supervise
the factory side of the process to take some of the load off of
Dorothy’s shoulders. Later, of course, he was to produce many
spectacular models in his own right but at the start he was highly
instrumental in speeding up the process of manufacture and with
his help many more models came on stream.
Dorothy
was taken ill again in 1962 and died at the age of 70
while many of her models were still in the design stage. these models
were to continue being released for a further six years until they
were all finished.
Freda
continued in good heath for another ten years but was to release
no more models of her enchanting children after this time.
Between
them the two sisters were among the most prolific of all the Worcester
modellers with Freda being responsible for over a hundred different
figures and Dorothy’s output of birds not falling far short
of that number. There skills and enthusiasm were almost certainly
a major factor in the company’s survival and there names will
be remembered by all lovers of ceramic figurines for a long long
time to come.
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Few
royal worcester artists are better known than Charles Baldwyn. (Charley).
His paintings of swans in flight on royal worcester vases are instantly
recognisable as his signature pieces.
In
the 1850s James Hadley was apprenticed to Kerr &
Binns of Worcester. He worked in the modelling department with Edward
Locke and the young Thomas Brock. By 1870 he became the principal
worcester modeller and in 1875 he left the factory and set up his
own modelling studio at 95 High Street, Worcester.
In
1901
Royal Worcester tried to prevent Locke & Co. and Hadley and
Sons Ltd. using the title 'Worcester' on their wares. The case against
Locke was taken to the High Court, with the agreement that the finding
would also apply to Hadley. 
She
specialised in flowers and small fruits. 