MOORCROFT POTTERY AND MUSEUM

William Moorcroft was born in Burslem, Staffordshire in 1872 and after attending art school in Burslem, he went to South Kensington and finally on to Paris to complete his education.

In March 1897, William Moorcroft returned to Burslem and was offered a job as a designer with James Macintyre and Co. Ltd. who wanted to start an Art Pottery Department. Moorcroft was not only an artist but also a potter and he soon developed a style and technique which became synonymous with his name. Each piece was signed and William Moorcroft soon gained international recognition for his work which he exhibited from the early years of the 20th century. He won his first Gold Medal at the St. Louis International Exhibition in 1904 following which he supplied Tiffany of New York and Shreve & Co. of San Francisco whilst he was already supplying Liberty in London.

In 1910 William Moorcroft won another Gold Medal at Brussels. In 1913 he was awarded a Diploma of Honour at Ghent, the year he opened his own works at Cobridge. Production continued almost interrupted at the new works where William continued to develop his individual designs.

During the period of the First World War, Moorcroft was shipping his wares world-wide and continued to exhibit at the British Industries Fair each year. In the 1920s he began to develop Flambe glazes and produced some magnificent large vases which were exhibited at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924

In 1925 Moorcroft won a Gold Medal at the Paris International Exhibition and then, in 1928, he received his most coveted award when Queen Mary appointed him 'Potter to Her Majesty the Queen' after collecting his work personally for some fifteen years.

Despite the slump of the 1930s, and the more austere decorative mood, Moorcroft won a Grand Diploma of Honour at the Milan International Exhibition in 1933 and another award in Paris in 1937; a year when his wares were also well received at the New York World Fair.

By the time that William Moorcroft died in 1945, examples of his work had been acquired by museums in the USA, Canada, Germany and Italy as well as in the United Kingdom. In 1972 the Victoria and Albert Museum mounted a retrospective centenary of William's work to celebrate his birth

Williams elder son, Walter returned from military service to continue the running of the Cobridge works after his father's death. Walter, who had inherited his father's artistic ability, initially continued with William's designs, but soon created his own which fully justified Queen Mary's decision to confer her Royal appointment to him personally. Walter remained sole designer until his retirement in 1987

W. Moorcroft PLC is still an independent family business with William John Moorcroft, William's younger son, as Managing Director. John, as he prefers to be known, was joined in 1986 by two partners and their wives, Hugh and Maureen Edwards, and Richard and Sally Dennis. Sally, who designed under her maiden name, Tuffin, created several new designs during the next six years, before she and her husband Richard left the company in 1992.

              William Moorcroft      Walter Moorcroft    William John Moorcroft

Today John and Gill Moorcroft and Hugh and Maureen Edwards head the Company and since January 1993 design has been in the hands of Rachel Bishop, a graduate in ceramic design. The sheer quality of Rachel's work has taken Moorcroft to the highest reaches of international esteem and appreciation.

The method of production originated by William Moorcroft is almost exactly the same today. Most pieces are still turned on the lathe to perfect the shape.

The designs are applied by tube-lining or by slip trailing, a process by which the raised outline is applied to the pot in the form of a fine extrusion of liquid clay or slip squeezed through a glass tube from a bag held in the hand.

The colours are based on metallic oxides and are applied entirely by hand, one colour being gently washed over another to enable them to blend together at high temperature firstly with the clay pot, and then with the transparent glaze. It is this second firing which produces the brilliance of colour which has become the hallmark of Moorcroft Potteries.

The Moorcroft Collectors Club keeps members in touch with the latest developments and auction news. If you are interested in joining, contact the club secretary at the address below.

Moorcroft Pottery is located in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent on Sandbach Road. From Country Cottage, a convenient route would be to take the A523T to Leek (turn right on the main road), and then take the A53 south from Leek to Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. About 1.5 miles before the junction with the A500 (the D road), you will see brown local interest signs with the directions to "Moorcroft"

The Museum is housed in a room next tot the shop. Its walls are lined with oak cabinets made by Liberty & Co. for the Moorcroft stand at the Wembley exhibition of 1924

The Pots are arranged in chronological sequence starting with William Moorcroft's first designs at James Macintyre and Co. Ltd. in 1897. There are many examples of his designs, shapes and colours produced over the following 48 years, to delight the collector as well as the newcomer encountering Moorcroft Pottery for the first time.

The Museum display contains examples of the pottery of William's son, Walter Moorcroft, Sally Tuffin and Philip Richardson. Today, as designs are withdrawn from production, examples are placed in the Moorcroft museum.

Admission is Free