RJR Pottery (1950-1956) Bill Richardson (R)

Founded by three friends, the RJR Pottery not only featured Niagara-on-the-Lake buildings and landscapes, but it was also made locally at 17 Prideaux Street. Dr. Bruce Rigg, Mary Jones and Bill Richardson were the founding members. Each had their own occupations and saw this project as more of a hobby. With conflicting schedules, they would often complete the various steps of a project separately and leave notes for the next person to continue the process.
Each tile was the one and only of its kind, which was very appealing. Most pieces were made of red Niagara clay; however, some were created with blank white commercial tiles made by H&R Johnson Ltd. England. They were decorated by RJR and then fired. The result was a crisper image which was different than those made from Niagara clay.
When Bill moved away, the RJR logo was no longer used. However, Dr. Rigg and his wife, Betty, did continue creating tiles until 1964 using the logo B+B for Bruce and Betty.

Bill operated a coal business in Town located where the Prince of Wales hotel parking is today. He was responsible for digging the clay, which was found in the dock area in the Village of Queenston, and he fired all the completed clay pieces in the kiln. In the early years, he used an oil-fired kiln located in his coal yard, but later he used an electric kiln. It took approximately 5 to 6 hours to properly fire the pottery. Bill was known to wait until the evening, so neighbours would not complain about the smoke.