Goss crested china is typically in the form of small white glazed

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 ...

models, made from 1858 to 1939, carrying the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the place where they were sold as a

souvenir A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

, thus being a form of model heraldic china. Other factories, including Carlton, Shelley and Arcadian, also made souvenir ware but Goss is still the most

collectable A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms ...

Historical

The

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

and the coming of

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

opened up travel to working people rather than just the wealthy and, in particular, it led to the growth of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...

s like Blackpool and

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

. William Henry Goss (1833–1906), owner of the Falcon

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

in Stoke-on-Trent, and his sons, Adolphus and Victor, are often credited with the idea of making

ware bearing crests and names of seaside resorts in the late 19th century. In fact, Lowestoft porcelain in particular, but also other factories, had been producing such pieces for a century of so, but not as their main type of product. Now, many

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

people are familiar with the white glazed

souvenirs, typically in classical shapes of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

antiquities. They also made tiny replicas of visitor attractions like a statue of

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

with the name and crest of the Captain's home town of

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

. Small busts of famous people like

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

, were also made together with of ships and cars. Goss cottages are amongst the most collectible. By the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Goss china was immensely popular and, it is said, at least 90% of homes had at least one piece of Goss crested China. The

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

caused a decline and in 1929 the Goss family sold their factory which continued to produce souvenir ware until the end of the 1930s. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

interest in Goss revived and has continued.

Pieces

Genuine Goss usually has an inscription on the base describing the item and also a

goshawk Goshawk may refer to several species of birds of prey, mainly in the genus ''Accipiter'': * Northern goshawk, ''Accipiter gentilis'', often referred to simply as the goshawk, since it is the only goshawk found in much of its range (in Europe and N ...

crest with the name W.H.Goss below it. The impressed Serif mark 'W.H.Goss' shows manufacture 1858–1887 while the Sans-serif mark indicates 1887–1916. Some examples carry Registration numbers and these were made from 1884–1914. Where the Goss mark is the larger 'rubber stamped' then production from 1925–1930 is indicated. Pieces made from 1930, after the factory was sold, also bear the word '

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

'. In all there are over 2,500 different models ranging from parian figures to tea services to pots and jugs to beautiful coloured figures and cottages and they can be found with over 10,000 different decorations. The most valuable pieces have a crest of the place where the antiquity was found or of the location of the landmark—so called 'matching crests'.

Falcon Pottery building

Although the production of Goss China has long finished, the remaining Falcon Pottery building is a grade two listed building part of the London Road site owned by an unrelated company,

Portmeirion Portmeirion is a tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the style of an Italian village, and is now owned by a charitable trust. The village is located in the co ...

External links

{{Commons category, Goss china
Goss Collectors Club

Ceramics manufacturers of England Memorabilia Staffordshire pottery British porcelain