The geography of Staffordshire in central England conspired to make it a center for slipware and other types of lead-glazed earthenware. Thick layers of clay lay only a few feet below the surface. In fact, there was so much of the stuff within easy reach that 18th-century potters routinely dug clay right out of the roads, thus giving us the origins of the phrase “pot hole.”

Coal to fire the area’s signature bottle kilns was also plentiful in the northern part of the district. The field that fueled the Potteries (as the industry that dominated the towns of Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke, and Tunstall is still known) covered roughly 100 square miles.

It’s thought that the two minerals first came together in 1467, 200 years before John Astbury introduced his red earthenware to the world, and almost 300 years before "Potter to ...

The antique Staffordshire ceramics that we're most familiar with today are from these later periods, when as many as 4,000 bottle kilns spewed black smoke into the skies in the service of fine dinnerware and fanciful figurines.

One of the leading potters of the 18th century was Thomas Whieldon, who made everything from black tea and coffee pots to knife hafts for Sheffield cutlers to plates with richly ornamented edges. Whieldon had many apprentices (Josiah Spode and Ralph Wood are two of the most important) and he was a business partner for about five years with Josiah Wedgwood, who learned a lot from Whieldon before establishing his own firm in 1759.

Though rightly famous for his creamware, which was lightweight and seemed to shine thanks to its luminous glaze, Wedgwood also developed a line of unglazed black stoneware known as the basaltes. Some sported precise basketweave reliefs on their exteriors — these are highly sought by collectors. Others were decorated with terracotta figures — these Wedgwood-dubbed Etruscan Ware.

Charlotte was not the only monarch to choose Wedgwood. In 1770, Catherine the Great of Russia ordered a dinner-and-dessert set for 24 called the Husk Service and in 1774 he delivered to her a 954-piece dinner set known as the Frog Service. Other achievements by Wedgwood include the introduction of Jasperware (stoneware colored by metal oxides) and pearlware (a bluish version of his creamware).

By the end of the 18th century, Staffordshire potteries were producing Anglo-American wares for the newly independent colonies across the Atlantic. Pitchers were decorated with slogans that celebrated American independence and the young country’s love of liberty.

At the beginning of the 19th century, transfer-printed scenes of everything from Niagara Falls to views of Boston Harbor were produced on monochrome blue platters and plates. Today the 800-some subjects in this series are known as Historical Blue Staffordshire, or simply Old Blue.

Other wares made for the new American market were Gaudy Dutch, whose vivid pink, green, red, and green glazes were aimed at residents of Pennsylvania. And as many as 40 patterns of sponged ware, also called spatterware, came out of Staffordshire potteries to supply Americans with dinnerware, tea sets, and washbowls for the bathroom.

Key terms for Staffordshire Ceramics

Slipware: A technique in which an aqueous clay body is painted, splashed, or used as a dip for a dry clay surface.

Haft: The handle of a knife or sword.

About our sources | Got something to add?

▼ Expand to read the full article ▼

Interviews & Articles

The Lure of Collecting Historical China

I have long since become familiar with the query: "How did you start collecting historical Staffordshire china?" I was casually in… [more]

The Return of the Soup Tureen

Once again the tureen, after a long period of rest on the top shelf of the china closet, is making its appearance – not only as a … [more]

A Collection of Masonic China

In any discussion regarding Masonic emblems as a decoration on old china, one immediately thinks of a Liverpool pitcher. So many a… [more]

The American Scene on China

One thing suggests another in antique collecting, as with anything else. The person who buys a piece of antique furniture is apt t… [more]

Bowes Curator Howard Coutts on Meissen, Staffordshire, and Sèvres

I’m the curator of the ceramics bit of the Bowes Museum. It’s a big museum with 30 galleries of which three or four are devoted to… [more]

▼ Expand this section

Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

Thepotteries.org

Thepotteries.org

Steve Birks' super deep site is a tribute to a bygone era, chronicling how a pottery center of excellence (they did… [read review or visit site]

The Bowes Museum: Ceramics

The Bowes Museum: Ceramics

This gallery showcases 2,130 of the 5,000 items in the museum's ceramics collection dating from 1500-1900. Include… [read review or visit site]

Ceramics at The V&A

Ceramics at The V&A

A great reference on ceramics from the Victoria and Albert Museum. Learn about different ceramics techniques and st… [read review or visit site]



Clubs & Associations

Top eBay Auctions

Showing 60. See all 193 by  highest bidmost watchedcompleted
Rare Large Pair Staffordshire Pottery Scottish Royal Kids W Big Black Dog C1850Scarce Pair Staffordshire Pottery Standing Whippet Dogs W Rabit Figurines C1850 Pair Scarce Large Staffordshire Pottery Cow With Milking Calf Figural Spill VasePair 13" Antique Staffordshire Pottery Equestrian Gipsys Figurines Man Woman 2 Antique Staffordshire Pearlware Porcelain Figurines Neoclassical WomenStaffordshire C 1850s Spill Vase "mother Reading To Children: Ex CondVictorian Antique Figural Staffordshire Pottery 12" Watch Holder C1850sSuperb Pair: 19th C Staffordshire Seated Hearth Dogs With Wonderful Facial DecorRare Staffordshire Yellow Canary Glaze Toy ~ Tufted Armless Chair ~ Figure C1820Antique Staffordshire Ironstone Friburg Davenport Child's Chamber PotHistorical Staffordshire Dark Blue Transferware Tea Bowl & Saucer Deer & Faun Antique Staffordshire Giraffe Purple Transferware SaucerC1840 Staffordshire Mulberry Deep Black Transfer Corean Pattern Podmore Walker19th C Staffordshire Pearlware Child's Motto Mug Pink Lustre Grace Before MeatClews Staffordshire Dark Blue Transferware Saucer ~ Basket Of Roses ~ C1830 NrLiberty Blue Staffordshire Soup Tureen With LidSuperb Mid 19th C. Staffordshire Miniature Of A Dog Carrying A Bird C1840Dick Turpin Antique Staffordshire Pottery Figurine Flatback 113/4" Tall C1855Old Foley "chinese Rose" Bowl And Pitcher James Kent Staffordshire EnglandClarice Cliff Tonquin Deep Red Tea Pot Teapot Tea-pot, Royal Staffordshire 4/cupStaffordshire Poodle With Pups Cobalt Blue Base, Gilded Border, English C.1870Stubbs Staffordshire 1818 Lion Sauce Tureen Blue & White Transfer Italian ScenesTwo Staffordshire Spill Vases - Cow With A CalfVintage Pair 9 3/8" Staffordshire Spaniels Dogs MarkedLarge Antique Staffordshire Porcelain Dog Figurine, CrackleNice Antique Wr Co Ridgway Brown Transferware Staffordshire Marmora Platter Antique Old Gibson & Sons Coloured Gaudy Willow Pattern Lidded Tureen H/paintedStaffordshire ~ Greek Vase & Flowers ~ Dark Blue Transferware Tea Bowl C1830 Nr1890s Aesthetic Brown Transferware Cake Plate, Melbourne By Challinor & MayerStaffordshire Liberty Blue Tea Pot W/ Bonus 4" Ben Franklin Coaster A+ No.rsv.Gorgeous Davenport Amoy Flow Blue Ironstone 8 1/4Myott Staffordshire Chelsea Bird Red ~ Set Of 5 Salad Plates ~ England Vintage New Old Stock Staffordshire Liberty Blue Teapot Tea Pot & LidStaffordshire Calico Blue Chintz Large 128 Oz Pitcher And Bowl Set England Tom King Antique Staffordshire Pottery Figurine Flatback 113/4" Tall C1855Staffordshire Dark Blue Transferware ~ Country Fishing ~ Scalloped Cup Saucer NrGilded Staffordshire Floral Trio Cup Saucer Plate - C1910 Excellent ConditionAntique Staffordshire Pottery Figurine Seated Woman With Lamb Blue Coleslaw 1850Mr Punch & Judy ~ C1890 2pc Childs Tea Set Ragbaby & Pipe Smoking Frog Historical Staffordshire Dark Blue Transferware Tea Bowl & Saucer Deer & Faun 61.75" Crown Staffordshire Hunting Scene Bone China Shot Glass, Fox HuntAntique English Pearlware Birds Teapot Medium Blue Transferware StaffordshireAntique English Pearlware Strawberry Teapot Tea Pot Strawberries StaffordshireHistorical Staffordshire Dark Blue Transferware Tea Bowl & Saucer Deer & Faun 2Staffordshire Pearlware Marked Wood ~ Gaudy Yellow Flowers ~ Cup Saucer C1830 2pcs Graduated Antique Wedgwood Transferware Pottery Oval Vegetable Dished 19thcVintage Small Staffordshire Spaniel Dog FigurineVictorian Staffordshire Pair Of Hounds, Ca. 1845Staffordshire Pearlware Prattware ~ Yellow Band ~ Hand Painted Bowl C1820 NrPair Antique Staffordshire Pottery Milk Man Milk Woman Cow Creamer Figurines Staffordshire Sunderland Lustre Plaque, Ca. 1840Sadler Tea Pot Sporting Scenes Of The 18th Century Fishing Staffordshire EnglandSet Of 3 Boxed Staffordshire Liberty Blue 4 Piece Place SettingsDark Blue Historical Staffordshire Childs Plate As IsMyott Chelsea Red Bird 12 Bread Plates 6 3/8" Staffordshire England #2380 NrFurnivals Versailles Staffordshire Teal 2 Serving Bowls JsScarce Ridgway Indus Transferware Soup Tureen Staffordshire Footed Serving BowlC1790 Enamel Decorated Staffordshire Pottery Figurine Wood Man In Robe With BirdOld English Staffordshire Jonroth Blue White Transfer Pitcher Fort Ticonderoga Blue Willow 12.5" Round Serving Platter Churchill Staffordshire England