John Doulton (17 November 1793 – 26 May 1873) was an English businessman and manufacturer of

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 ...

, a founder of the firm that later became known as ''

Royal Doulton Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of Engl ...

''. John Doulton married Jane Duneau, a widow from

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. Histor ...

in Shropshire, who died on 9 April 1841. They had eight children, including Sir

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, MP

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

, Josiah and Alfred.

Biography

In 1815, soon after John Doulton had completed his apprenticeship as a potter at the

Fulham Pottery The Fulham Pottery was founded in Fulham, London, by John Dwight (potter), John Dwight in 1672, at the junction of New King's Road and Burlington Road, Fulham, not far from Putney Bridge. Dwight is the earliest clearly documented maker of stone ...

in London, he invested his life savings of £100 in the Vauxhall Walk pottery of Martha Jones, Lambeth. Her foreman, John Watts, was also taken into partnership and the firm became known as ''Jones, Watts and Doulton''. It specialized in industrial ware, brown stoneware, drain pipes as well as

stoneware Stoneware is a rather broad term for pottery or other ceramics fired at a relatively high temperature. A modern technical definition is a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire clay. Whether vi ...

bottles for chemicals, beer, and other industrial liquids among others. Martha Jones withdrew from the partnership in 1820 and the company moved to new premises in Lambeth High Street in 1826. In 1835 John's 15-year-old son

Henry Doulton Sir Henry Doulton (25 July 1820 – 18 November 1897) was an English businessman, inventor and manufacturer of pottery, instrumental in developing the firm of Royal Doulton. Life Born in Vauxhall, Henry was the second of the eight children of J ...

was taken on as an apprentice. By 1846, Henry had set up an independent Lambeth Pottery which had become the leader in industrial products, particularly sanitation products. Following the retirement of John Watts in 1853, ''Doulton and Watts'' merged with Henry's company to become ''Doulton and Company'' and was highly recognised for its lines of hand decorated

figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with clay ...

vase A vase ( or ) is an open container. It can be made from a number of materials, such as ceramics, glass, non-rusting metals, such as aluminium, brass, bronze, or stainless steel. Even wood has been used to make vases, either by using tree species ...

s and

dinnerware Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variety and number of obj ...

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doulton, John English inventors 1793 births 1873 deaths English potters