Pottering around Derbyshire
From world-famous china and domestic wares to often forgotten sanitary ceramics, Derbyshire has an industrial history as rich as its clay beds
Photograph of Clay Pit at Denby (1898) by UnknownDerbyshire Record Office
Formed by the decomposition of certain mineral rocks, clay is found across the world. Clay has been extracted from the earth and used to make pottery in Derbyshire for over 7000 years.
Many rich beds of clay were found in the county during the 18th century leading to the establishment of companies manufacturing a wide range of products for domestic and foreign markets.
With a little water, clay can be “thrown” (shaped) by hand or ‘jollied’ using a machine to mould the clay.
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Once shaped, clay is usually ‘fired’ in kilns such as this one at Sharpe’s Pottery in Swadlincote, which made domestic pottery and ceramic sanitary products, including Edmund Sharpe’s patented “Wash Down” – or toilet.
Clay products are excellent for a range of purposes. South Derbyshire potteries often specialised in sanitation products as Victorians developed a better understanding of personal and public health.
Advertisement for Peanco Fireproof cooking ware (1940/1960) by Pearsons and Company of ChesterfieldDerbyshire Record Office
Established in 1810, Pearson & Co. continued a long tradition of pottery manufacture from the local brown clay in and around Chesterfield.
Register of labels (1913/1953) by Pearsons and Company of ChesterfieldDerbyshire Record Office
Mass Production
At its peak, Pearson’s employed over 620 people, manufacturing pottery and stoneware, kitchen pots, jugs, bottles including for ginger beer and ales, dishes and jars for customers across the world.
Bespoke Designs
In addition to mass produced domestic and commercial wares, like many other Derbyshire potteries, Pearson’s also designed specific items for individual customer orders.
Glazing
Although clay products have been glazed for practical and decorative reasons for thousands of years, old recipes continued to be improved and new recipes developed, sometimes to meet new fashions and sometimes to address wider scientific developments.
Extract from Joseph Bourne & Co. Product Catalogue (1932) by Joseph Bourne and Son LtdDerbyshire Record Office
Denby Pottery
The high quality of Joseph Bourne, later Denby, Pottery is matched online by the wide range of products (many named after Derbyshire villages) they have sold across the world in their ongoing 200-year history.
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Royal Crown Derby
Founded as Derby Porcelain the firm is one of the oldest porcelain manufacturers in England producing high-quality tableware and ornaments since about 1750.
Involving a similar but more challenging process than other types of pottery, porcelain is delicate and highly decorative.
Royal recognition
Thanks to porcelain painter William Duesbury (1725–1786), King George III permitted the firm to incorporate a crown in its manufacturing mark in 1773. Appointed 'Manufacturer to Her Majesty' Queen Victoria, the firm became The Royal Crown Derby Porcelain Company in 1890.
