The Royal Worcester
porcelain factory is the oldest, continuously operating, english
porcelain factory still in production today.
 Royal
Worcester was founded in Worcester, England in 1751 and the first
worcester factory was established on the banks of the River Severn
by a group of local businessmen.
It
appears that around 1750 Dr.John Wall (1708-1776) and the apothecary
William Davis conducted some experiments at Davis's shop in Broad
street, Worcester where they discovered a method of making a porcelain
material and then persuaded a group of 13 local businessmen to back
their discovery with an investment in a new factory at Warmstry
House.
A
lease for the grand house on the banks of the River Severn was taken
out on 16th May 1751 and on the 4th June, the 15 partners signed
a deed to officially establish the 'Worcester Tonquin Manufacture'.
The
secret of porcelain production
was to be the property of the shareholders and each agreed to a
penalty of £4000 should they disclose knowledge of the secret
to anyone. The original partnership deeds
are still housed in the Worcester Museum. 
Early
production
was rather haphazard and the purchase of Benjamin Lund's Bristol
company was used to bring vital technical expertise into the mix.
Worcester also obtained licences to mine soapstone in Cornwall and
worcester soapstone porcelain did not crack when boiling water was
poured into it; giving worcester a significant advantage over other
producers.
Hard
paste porcelain is made of 2 ingredients-kaolin(clay) and petuntse(decomposed
granite). European countries were unable to unlock the secret to
the formula so they made their first porcelains by substituting
different materials. Kaolin instead of soapstone, for instance.
The soapstone made the porcelain withstand the heat of boiling water
and produced tea services that were very much in demand.
 Worcester
like meissen has always prided itself on its first rate quality.
In
1789, it received a royal warrant, and is still
producing porcelain by appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
II. Meissen porcelain was greatly admired in England in the 1750's,
but its import was severly restricted and so English manufacturers
imitated the meissen wares.
By
1755
worcester was making the best English blue and white porcelain tea
wares that money could buy, as well as more expensive coloured enamel
sets. It sold its porcelain through a warehouse in Aldersgate Street,
London and from Samuel Bradley's shop in Worcester High Street.
Worcester
played a major role in the development of the English porcelain
tradition, going through several name changes over the years and
merging or taking over other manufacturers. Worcester are now known
as Royal Worcester Porcelain Co.
Increased
tea consumption in the 1760's created a huge demand for teawares,
bringing prosperity to the Worcester factory. This didn't last as
competitors in staffordshire began producing inexpensive wares in
large quantities.
In
1774
Dr.John Wall retired and in 1775 Thomas Turner left Worcester and
set up a rival factory at Caughley in Shropshire, where he mass
produced blue & white tablewares in a very similar style to
Worcester.
In
1774
William Davis took control of the Worcester factory.
When John Wall & William Davis died,
the company was sold to Thomas Flight, who bought it for his sons
Joseph & John and the name changed to Flight (1783-1792).
When
John Flight died and Martin Barr became a partner to Flight &
Barr (1792-1804) -- Barr, Flight & Barr (1804-1813) and Flight,
Barr & Barr (1813-1840). Then to Chamberlain & Co (1840-1850)
when Flight, Barr and their arch rival Chamberlain joined forces.
 In
1852
Irishmen, Richard William Binns (1819-1900) and William Henry Kerr
(1823-1879) took over the management of the Chamberlain & Co.
porcelain works in Severn Street, Worcester. The factory had been
ravaged by fire and an extensive building programme took place in
the 1850's. Modern
machinery was purchased and installed and new working methods improved
the quality of the product.
Kerr
& Binns (1852-1862), gathered together an exceptionally talented
team; including James Hadley, Josiah Davis and John Hopewell who
started in 1852, and James Callowhill, Samuel Ranford, Luke Wells
and Josiah Rushton in 1853. Then Thomas Callowhill in 1855, David
Bates in 1858, and Thomas Brock and George Owen in 1859.
In
1862
Kerr returned to his native Ireland and under the leadership of
Richard Binns, with established new materials, new bodies &
improved glazes and with properly trained staff the worcester factory
climbed to new heights of
success.
Alongside
the name changes
came different base marks including a "W", a blue crescent,
a fretted square, an anchor, imitation Chinese numbers, and a crown.
At
its height,
the firm employed around 1,000 people, but after merging with Spode,
and due to heavy competition production was switched to factories
in Stoke and abroad. 100 staff were made redundant in 2003 and another
100 went in 2005.
The
last 15 pocelain painters
left the Severn Street factory on Friday 29 September 2006, together
with another 100 workers. The remaining 200 employees are being
retrained and the company has indicated its intention to focus on
the production of ornamental giftware and prestige ranges.
Good
antique pieces and even relatively modern worcester porcelain items
will become rarer and harder to find and the quality antique pieces
in particular are a wise investment.
The
pair of stinton vases on the right were sold in a local auction
house in Yorkshire, England in mid-2006 and the auctioneers, using
their vast experience and extensive knowledge, detailed in the auction
cataloque, an estimnate of £2500 to £3000 for the pair
......... The pair sold, in the room, for just over £24,500,
excluding commission.
Find and use good reference books
that detail the numerous names and marks. Carry one with you.
Focus your collecting on a specific
period of Royal Worcester porcelain or on specific artists.
First period refers to pieces made until 1783 when Thomas Flight
purchased the Co.
Regency refers to those items made when the name changed frequently
Royal Worcester refers to pieces from about 1862 onwards.
Beware of imitations. Early worcester
was soft-paste. If a piece claims to be early, but is hard-paste
porcelain or bone china, it's a fake.
Examine the motifs and decoration.
The decoration on some pieces was painted much later than the original.
Black spots or a black foot rim usually indicates a piece has been
refired.
Remember Royal Worcester produced
a wide range of wares and they come in many different shapes and
with many differnet motifs. Ensure you have fun collecting and make
sure it is something you enjoy before you start spending.
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Royal Worcester
