Worcester Pottery is an integral part of the history of Worcester and the development of the City. For over 250 years the production and growth of the Worcester pottery industry  played an important part not only in Worcester but in the porcelain and pottery industry as a whole.

In 1750 two men working together in Worcester discovered a new way to make porcelain. Dr John Wall & William Davis realised that their discovery was one of great importance and quickly secured the financial backing of 13 prominent local business men in Worcester. The secret formula of Wall and Davis was to be the secret of their success and each of the business men that joined them in partnership signed a deed promising not to divulge the formula to any third parties. The original deeds from the partnership that formed the first Worcester pottery company, 'Worcester Tonquin Manufacture'are held at the Worcester Pottery Museum.

The first Worcester Pottery Factory was situated on the banks of the River Severn in Worcester in 1751 and it was from here that after buying out Benjamin Lund's Bristol porcelain factory that production went from strength to strength. By purchasing the Bristol factory Wall and Davis also acquired all the successful recipes and production techniques that they needed to move their company forward. The most important of these was how to make soapstone porcelain/ soap rock porcelain. By purchasing special licences to mine in Cornwall for the soapstone the Worcester Pottery company went on to produce a new type of porcelain that could hold boiling water without cracking. This led to the production of highly fashionable and desirable Tea Services.

By 1755 Worcester Porcelain was producing the finest blue and white pottery tea sets that money could buy and the most expensive coloured enamel available. With the growth in popularity of tea drinking in the 1760's the Worcester Pottery factory saw a boom in their fortunes.

During the 1770's Dr John Wall retired from the company leaving his co founder William Davis in control of the Worcester pottery factory. During the next decade the company saw a decline in business and by 1783 had been bought and taken over by Thomas Flight.

Under the new management of flight's son John, the Worcester pottery business once again saw a change in fortune. It was during this period in1788 that a royal visit from King George III and Queen Charlotte was to alter the fate of Worcester pottery forever.

After advice from the King, John Flight opened a prestigious Worcester pottery shop in Coventry Street in London and the following year in 1789 was awarded the first Royal warrant.

Through the years the Worcester pottery and porcelain company has changed hands and changed names many times from Flight to Flight & Barr to  Barr,Flight,& barr . Then Flight, Barr & Barr to Chamberlain & Co and then in 1851 it was owned and managed by Kerr & Binns who turned the business around and later changed the name to The Worcester Royal Porcelain Company taking royal Worcester pottery to new and greater fortunes.

From 1862 onwards the firm concentrated on the production of Royal Worcester figures and vases and by 1900 had added well over 2500 new royal Worcester decorative items to its collections. They developed glazes and new materials to widen their range including earthenware and bone china and managed to keep up with the Victorian demand of the time for novel designs. With a developing interest in communications and train travel the Victorians were keen to explore ideas from different countries and cultures. Royal Worcester exploited this desire for foreign objects and design by producing porcelain pieces such as figures of Eastern Water carriers & Indian Craftsmen or more adventurous pieces that incorporated the heads or images of exotic animals such as elephants and giraffes.

From around 1900 the Worcester pottery artists were encouraged to sign their work some of the better known Worcester porcelain artists were:-

Charles Baldwyn who specialized in painting swans in flight & birds between1874 & 1909

Henry Chair for painting thistles, poppies, orchids & roses between1872 &1911

Harry Davis for his fish, sheep, landscapes & architecture designs and who painted for 72 years from 1898 up to 1970!

George Evans for his Corot style landscapes between 1914 & 1955

William Hawkins known for his portraits, interiors & still life during his career between 1874 to 1928

George Johnson who liked to paint game birds, flying swans & farmyard scenes during his time working on the pottery from1875 to1914

Ernest Phillips who painted neat flower groups & still life from1890 through to1932

William Powell who specialized in painting small British birds 1900-1950

Frank Roberts painter of flowers & fruit

Frank R. Rushton for working on landscapes, cottages & gardens

Edwin Salter painter of landscapes & fish

Richard Sebright mostly known for his paintings of Fruit

Harry Stinton who liked to paint Highland Cattle

James Stinton for Game Birds

&John Stinton Jnr. Who also painted Landscapes, castles, cattle & Highland Cattle

Many of the Worcester Pottery Patterns painted by these artists can be seen in the Worcester Pottery Museum.

As well as the artists signature Royal Worcester pieces can also be identified by their Worcester pottery marks which have changed through the course of the history of the company.

As the Worcester pottery story continues yet more changes take place.  At the beginning of the 20^th Century the company once again had to adapt to changing public tastes as during and after the first World War people wanted modern tableware for entertaining.

During the economic depression of the late 1920's  Royal Worcester pottery struggled as the demand for porcelain dropped drastically both in the Uk and abroad. Close to closure the company was saved when local businessman, Charles Dyson Perrins, stepped in and bought the company outright saving it from almost certain closure.

After a Government request a heat and shock resistant porcelain had been created for use in hospitals.  During the second world war almost a third of the Worcester pottery factory was given over to the Ministry of Aircraft so they could produce insulators for use on radio and radar equipment from this special hard porcelain.

Returning to normal 1962 saw the introduction of Royal Worcester pottery pattern "Evesham". Evesham was to be the most popular Worcester pottery design of all time. It was designed by Professor Baker, Ronald Van Ruyckevelt and Peter Ewence all from the Royal College of Art.

It wasn't until 2006 that tableware production in Worcester ceased. Bespoke work continued for 3 years until in 2009 the Royal Worcester name was bought by Portmeirion Potteries of Stoke on Trent. The Factory and shop were closed and 14^th June 2009 saw the end of an era for a business that had been synonymous with the City of Worcester for well over 250 years.