HK Disneyland Hotel Room AM Dudson Fine China Tea cups 220V boiling water

Dudson is a British company that manufactured tableware, glassware and

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

, in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. It is one of the oldest brands of its industry in England, founded in 1800. The former pottery works is the location of the Dudson Centre and the Dudson Museum.

History

The company was founded in Hanley by Richard Dudson in 1800. In its early years it produced a variety of domestic ware. In the 1880s James Thomas Dudson, great-grandson of the founder, identified a need to serve specifically the hospitality market, in view of the increase in travel created by the railways, and made significant changes in production. By 1891 the company, concentrating on this market, produced a particularly strong type of

vitrified Vitrification (from Latin language, Latin ''vitreum'', "glass" via French language, French ''vitrifier'') is the full or partial transformation of a substance into a glass, that is to say, a non-Crystallinity, crystalline amorphous solid. Glasses ...

china, developed by James's father."The Dudson Family"
''The Dudson Museum''. Retrieved 7 May 2022. The company became the oldest privately owned family business in the UK tableware industry. Ian Dudson, of the Dudson family, has served as the

Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire This is a list of people who have served as lord lieutenant for Staffordshire. Since 1828, all lord lieutenants have also been custos rotulorum of Staffordshire. Lord Lieutenants of Staffordshire *Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford 1559 *George T ...

since 2012."The Lord-Lieutenant and Vice Lord-Lieutenant, Ian Dudson is the Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire"
Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.

Closure

Dudson went into administration on 4 April 2019. PwC cited "A deterioration in sales and increased costs" as a reason for the closure. The local pottery company Churchill China bought the rights to the brand and two of its most popular ranges, "Harvest" and "Evo" in April 2019 and began manufacturing immediately in its own factory. On 6 June 2019 Churchill relaunched the Dudson brand with the "Harvest" and "Evo" collections already in stock.

Dudson Centre and Museum

Bottle Kiln at Dudson Pottery, Hanley - geograph

The pottery works on Hanover Street in Hanley were established in the 1820s, and were modified and expanded in later years. They are Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s. The factory site is now the location of the Dudson Centre, where there are conference facilities, catering and office space for voluntary organisations. Ian Dudson is Chair of the Trustees of the Centre. The Dudson Museum, housed in the

bottle kiln A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal Stoppe ...

of the former factory, displays on two floors examples produced by the company. There are information boards and more than 1,300 exhibits, showing the range of products and evolving tastes during the 19th century, and innovative shapes and brightly coloured pottery for hotels and restaurant chains in more recent years."The Dudson Collection"
''The Dudson Museum''. Retrieved 7 May 2022.

References

External links

Official website
{{Stoke-on-Trent Ceramics manufacturers of England Staffordshire pottery Museums in Stoke-on-Trent