Royal Worcester

Early history

Prior to 1751, John Wall, a physician, and William Davis, an apothecary, attempted to develop a method of making porcelain that could then be used to boost prosperity and employment in Worcester. The success of their early experimentation is unknown (the chemical composition of the sherds from the early 1750s confirms that Wall and Davis did manufacture a novel type of porcelain distinct from the later soapstone one), but they clearly came into contact around 1750–1751 with the Bristol porcelain manufactory of Lund and Miller, who were using steatite as a raw material. This appears to have been a unique method for producing porcelain at the time.

In 1751, Wall and Davis persuaded a group of 13 businessmen to invest in a new factory at Warmstry House, Worcester, England, on the banks of the River Severn (the site was leased on 16 May, and the partnership agreement was signed on 4 June), but whether the business plan put forward to the prospective partners was based on the future buy out of Lund's Bristol porcelain factory is uncertain. Wall and Davis secured the sum of £4500 from the partners to establish the factory, known then as "The Worcester Tonquin Manufactory"; the original partnership deeds are still housed in the Museum of Worcester Porcelain.

Richard Holdship, a Quaker and major shareholder, was prominent in the process of the subsequent ‘buy out’ of the Bristol manufactory in early 1752. Holdship personally bought from Benjamin Lund, a fellow Quaker, the soaprock licence that ensured the mining of 20 tons p.a. of soaprock from Cornwall.

The early wares were soft-paste porcelain with bodies that contained soaprock, commonly called in most ceramic circles as soapstone. The chemical analyses of these wares closely correlates to those of the Bristol manufactory. This places Worcester in a group of early English potteries including Caughley and factories in Liverpool.

Modern history

In the 20th century, Royal Worcester's most popular pattern has been "Evesham Gold", first offered in 1961, depicting the autumnal fruits of the Vale of Evesham with fine gold banding on an "oven to table" body.

After the 1976 merger with Spode, and due to heavy competition from overseas, the production was switched to factories in Stoke and abroad. 100 staff were made redundant in 2003, and another 100 went in 2005. Fifteen porcelain painters left the Severn Street factory on Friday 29 September 2006, together with 100 other workers. The last trading date for Royal Worcester was 14 June 2009.

The company went into administration on 6 November 2008 and on 23 April 2009, the brand name and intellectual property were acquired by Portmeirion Pottery Group – a pottery and homewares company based in Stoke-on-Trent. As Portmeirion Group already had a factory in Stoke-on-Trent, the purchase did not include the Royal Worcester and Spode manufacturing facilities.

"Worcester porcelain" also includes the hard-paste porcelain wares made in Chamberlain's Factory and Grainger's Factory, as they tend to be referred to in catalogues and museum descriptions. Both of these began as decorating shops in Worcester, painting "blanks" made by other factories, but after a few years began to make their own porcelain. Chamberlain's Factory, which was very high quality and in 1811 received its own royal warrant from the Prince Regent, had begun to manufacture by 1791. In 1840, at a time when both businesses were having difficulties keeping up with a changing market, it merged with the main Flight and Barr concern as "Chamberlain & Company.

A rebuilding after a fire in early 1850s was overseen by new owners, William Henry Kerr and Richard William Binns. The Worcester Royal Porcelain Company Limited was formed in 1862 after Kerr's retirement (Binns partnered with Edward Philips).

Grainger's Factory was making porcelain from 1807, though not of quite the highest quality. Under a succession of partnership and company names the Grainger family retained significant shares until the death of the last member in 1889, when Royal Worcester took them over. As Grainger & Co the factory and name were used until 1902, when a full transfer to the main factory took place. Some Grainger moulds remained in use in the 21st century. The factory site at St Martin’s Gate was used from 1809 to 1902.

In 1905 Royal Worcester acquired the factory of James Hadley and Sons. Hadley used to work for Royal Worcester in 1850s-1870s, but set up his own manufacturing facility on Diglis Road in 1897.