John Davenport, born in 1765, and it is said that he begun potting in 1785, first as a workman, and then some time later  as a partner with Thomas Wolfe of Stoke. 
He started his own pottery at Longport' manufacturing earthenware in 1794. In 1830 he then retired, and his two sons Henry and William carried on the firm until 1835, when Henry himself died. 
The business then became William Davenport and Company. William died in 1869, and his two sons took over the business, which stayed in the family until 1887.
In the beginning, earthenware was only manufactured, this was blue printed and formed a large part of manufacture. Porcelain was not manufactured until about 1815. 
During the whole time the business was in existence under-glaze blue transfer printed earthenware and wares were made in huge amounts. Many different bodies were used, including a stone china.
The blue varies from a light to a medium colour. Willow patterns were made extensively, and unlike most of the other potters, chinoiseries of different designs stayed one of the key motifs of their patterns over the whole period. These are seen on every conceivable type of domestic ware. Baskets with openwork sides, and plates and dishes with pierced and wicker pattern borders, were made in quantity. Other designs of floral patterns, romantic ruins and pastoral scenes were used. No named English scenic views appear to have been made, nor did the firm cater for the American market in this type of ware.
It is probable that many of the early pieces were not marked, but judging from the number of 19th-century pieces which still can be found it must have been rare for a piece made after 1800 not to have been marked. The earliest mark was the name "Davenport", impressed in lower case letters, with or without an anchor after 1805, the name more often appears in upper case letters. Occasionally the anchor appears alone. The word Longport is sometimes substitute for Davenport.