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Its three key brands are: Royal Doulton for British quality, Royal Albert for English romanticism, and Minton for contemporary cosmopolitan style. Together, the three brands make up Doulton Home, and they are now part of the wider Waterford Wedgwood group.


HISTORY OF THE ROYAL DOULTON COMPANY

Royal Doulton has a pedigree dating the company back to 1815 .

It started with a factory at Vauxhall Walk , Lambeth , London , as a partnership between John Doulton, Martha Jones, and John Watts. The business specialised in making Stoneware articles, such as decorative bottles and Salt Glaze Sewer pipes.

The company took on the Doulton name in 1853 . John and his son Henry established themselves as makers of fine English stoneware. While stoneware only allows for a limited range of colours, they were able to produce a wide variety of items for the Luxury Market .

During the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901) a revolution occurred in personal Sanitation . Consequently, Doulton's lead in Domestic and Industrial stoneware helped make it Britain 's top Manufacturer of sanitary ware. What's more, the firm was a key player in the field of artistic Pottery .

By 1871 , Henry had launched a Studio at the Lambeth pottery, and offered work to designers and artists from a local Art School . It was a great success. Their names included the Barlow family (Florence, Hannah, and Arthur), Frank Butler , Mark Marshall , Eliza Simmance , and George Tinworth .

Then in 1882 , Doulton purchased the small factory of Pinder, Bourne & Co, at Nile Street in Burslem , Staffordshire – bringing Doulton right to the heart of The Potteries .

And Doulton proved increasingly popular. It had much to do with the artistic direction of John Slater , who worked across a wide variety of Figurines , Vases , Character Jugs , and decorative pieces.

What's more, the popularity of Doulton products came to the attention of the Royal Family . In 1901 . the Burslem factory was granted the Royal Warrant by King Edward VII . Which enabled the business to adopt bold new markings and a new name: Royal Doulton.

Between the wars, Royal Doulton became synonymous with the finest English china, worldwide. The name and reputation continued to grow with Flambé ware, Titanian ware, and Bone China .

In 1960 , Royal Doulton introduced a new product – English Translucent China. It was developed over several years by Technical Director Richard Bailey . It effectively removed the cost of bone china, but offered fine translucent work. In short, it had all the right qualities at the right price. It became known as Royal Doulton Fine China and proved an outstanding success. And, in 1966 , it attained one of the first Queen's Award For Enterprise in the field of Innovation .

Today, Lambethware draws on a rich inheritance. It carefully blends tough, Quartz -like compounds with feldspathic Cornish stone for a robust appearance. Modern Ceramic technology adds a refined glaze and colour to all this.


TRIVIA

An ongoing gag in the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances involves character Hyacinth Bucket constantly making reference to her Royal Doulton china.