Val Baynton - Beswick Pottery

The Knight in Armour, sometimes called the Earl of Warwick, by Arthur Gredington, produced from 1949 to 1973. This sculpture often featured as the frontispiece to catalogues in the 1960s.

Jess and Kate issued in a limited edition of one hundred, 201 Beswick England backstamp. The models were based on two working sheepdogs owned by Roy Nelson, who farms in theYorkshire Dales.

B ESWICKS international reputation is based on its ceramic studies of animals, especially of horses and cattle, and of anthropomorphic models inspired by popular characters from literature, film and television. These ranges were introduced from the 1930s and evolved rapidly after the Second World War, but the company originated in the 1890s.

When the business was founded it was a small-scale pottery manufacturing a vast assortment of ornamental and useful wares for the home; the variety ranged from spittoons to mantelpiece figures and from bread trays to hand-painted vases. In the early years products were similar to those made by numerous local competitors, yet remarkably Beswick survived while many of these other firms have long since disappeared.

One of the reasons for the companys success was that the Beswick family, who ran the business until it was sold to Royal Doulton in 1969, understood that they had to make what the housewife or gift buyer wanted at a price that was affordable, and something for every taste and every pocket. So traditional styles were produced for as long as demand dictated, but new lines reflecting the trends and fashions of the day were regularly introduced as well.

Quality was also important and formed an essential part of the appeal of both the animal sculptures, where meticulous modelling ensured anatomical accuracy, and of the small character studies, which faithfully reproduced the spirit and detail of original drawings by illustrators such as Beatrix Potter.

Mantelpiece dogs were a constant part of Beswick production during the twentieth century. This pair dates from 1933 to 1955.

Beswicks products have found their way into the homes of animal and ceramic enthusiasts around the world. Well-made, yet affordable, the sculptures have graced the shelves of childrens bedrooms and have been regularly handled by their young owners. The quirky humour and the decorative details of other designs have similarly attracted many collectors. Some of the early pieces, as well as some more recent models, have become comparatively rare and are eagerly sought at car boot sales, auctions and on eBay.

This book explores the development of Beswick, tracing its progress from what was essentially a very ordinary Victorian pottery to a twenty-first-century brand. It looks at its broad product mix and at some of the people involved, including the Beswick family, key sculptors and designers. It also places Beswick in the context of the twentieth-century ceramic industry with its continuing issues of mechanisation and contraction. The story is remarkable because Beswick has endured and because of the widespread popularity of its products; it has just as important a place in the overall history of the Potteries as larger companies, or of more prestigious firms or individuals who promoted avant-garde, but short-lived designs.

Selection of characters inspired by the illustrations of Beatrix Potter and introduced between 1948 and 2002. (Left to right) Old Mr Pricklepin (19839), Duchess Holding a Pie (197982), Peter Rabbit Gardening (19989), Ginger (197682), Head Gardener (2002), Anna Maria (196383), and Jemima Puddle-Duck (19482002).

E NTREPRENEURISM was a key characteristic of the area of Staffordshire known as the Potteries in the 1890s. Comprising the six towns of Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke upon Trent, Fenton and Longton, the district was a hive of industry; businesses were starting and closing, but some survived through sheer hard work in often uncertain times, to be passed down to sons and grandsons. It was in this environment that a pottery was founded by James Wright Beswick in Longton.

Jamess father, Robert, a colliery proprietor in Great Chell (a small village near Tunstall) died in 1890, and this is likely to have provided the impetus and the finance to establish the pottery. There was family involvement in ceramic manufacture dating back to 1842, when Robert built and ran the Church Bank pottery in Tunstall. Later this was leased out to other potters on the understanding that they bought coal from the Beswick mine to fire the kilns. It is not recorded whether James and his elder brother, Robert, worked in the pottery but they were certainly involved in the colliery business, being listed as proprietors in the 1887 Directory of the Potteries and District. In 1890 they went their separate ways, Robert junior remaining at the colliery and in the family home, Chell House, and James moving to Longton, where, by 1896, his home is listed in local directories as Belgrave House, Dresden.

James Wright Beswick (18451920). Correct pronunciation emphasises the w in Beswick.

Involvement with Longton ceramic businesses dates from 1890, when Mrs J.W. Beswick became a partner of Thomas Heath at the Baltimore Works in Albion Street, as documented in the PGGTR in July 1913. Thomas Heath soon acquired another factory the Albion Works in High Street and both addresses were included in his advertisements until November that year, when mention of the Baltimore Works disappeared. In December 1893 the partnership was dissolved, allowing James Wright Beswick to open on his own account at the Baltimore Works in January 1894.

As his first advertisement, in the January 1894 issue of the PGGTR, records, J.W. Beswick specialised in Majolica and Earthenware, with wares including jugs, flower pots and pedestals, hanging pots, bread trays and cheese stands, as well as figures of all descriptions. In July the PGGTR carried its first review of the firm, commenting on figures and dogs that were of the old-fashioned type; the latter seem to range from toy terriers to greyhounds; ... in either pairs or in sets to match; in addition ... there are the milkmaid and soldier sets. The report praises the modelling and the variety of decoration such as enamelling, printing, gilding and hand-painting. Unfortunately these early wares are not marked with a backstamp, so the only way of identifying pieces is by comparison with descriptions (and illustrations from c. 1900) in the PGGTR.

From the outset the product range was extensive; it is likely that the firm bought moulds from another failing company or that the partnership with Heath enabled Beswick to use existing moulds. Heath had bought the moulds of Adams & Bromley in the summer of 1893 and by July 1894 the