The Midwinter Pottery was founded as W.R. Midwinter by William Robinson Midwinter in

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent. ...

, Stoke-on-Trent in 1910 and had become one of

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's largest potteries by the late 1930s with more than 700 employees. Production of Midwinter pottery ceased in 1987.

History

In the 1950s, under the leadership of the director Roy Midwinter, the company became one of the leading innovators in British tableware production. A large part of this was due to the noted ceramicists and designers who worked for the pottery, including Jessie Tait,

Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was an English designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989 The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran ...

Hugh Casson Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson (23 May 1910 – 15 August 1999) was a British architect. He was also active as an interior designer, as an artist, and as a writer and broadcaster on twentieth-century design. He was the director of architecture for t ...

, David Douglas, John Russell and

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. The Midwinter Pottery was also an innovator in producing 'accessories' to their basic dinner services and tea sets. The Clayburn Pottery, a sister company to Midwinter, made pieces such as lamp bases that could be added to a Midwinter dinner service. In the 1960s, the Spanish Garden design, which was very successful on dinner ware and tea sets, adorned articles such as a bread bin and chopping board. The costs involved in developing two unsuccessful new ranges weakened the company, and there was a takeover by J. & G. Meakin in 1968. In 1970 Meakin was itself bought out by

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...

. Pottery was produced under the Midwinter name from their factory until 1987. Many of the pieces produced by Midwinter in the 1950s and 1960s have become highly collectible, being typical of the styles of those eras.

References

Citations

General references

*''MIDWINTER A Collector's guide'' - Alan Peat, Cameron and Hollis, 1992, *''Midwinter Pottery'' - Steven Jenkins, Richard Dennis, 2003, {{Stoke-on-Trent Ceramics manufacturers of England Companies based in Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire pottery Waterford Wedgwood Manufacturing companies established in 1910 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1987