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(The Royal Doulton Company)
 The Royal Doulton Company began as a partnership between John Doulton, Martha Jones, and John Watts, with a factory at Vauxhall Walk, Lambeth, London. The business specialised in making stoneware articles, including decorative bottles and salt glaze sewer pipes. The company took the name Doulton in 1853.
By 1871, Henry Doulton, John’s son, had launched a studio at the Lambeth pottery, and offered work to designers and artists from a local art school. Their names included the Barlow family (Florence, Hannah, and Arthur), Frank Butler, Mark Marshall, Eliza Simmance, and George Tinworth. Then in 1882, Doulton purchased the small factory of Pinder, Bourne & Co, at Nile Street in Burslem, Staffordshire, which placed Doulton in the region known as The Potteries.
By this time Doulton had become one of the most popular brands of stoneware and ceramics, under the artistic direction of John Slater, who worked across a wide variety of figurines, vases, character jugs, and decorative pieces. Doulton products also came to the attention of the Royal family. In 1901 King Edward VII granted the Burslem factory the Royal Warrant, which allowed the business to adopt new markings and a new name, Royal Doulton. The company continued to add products during the first half of the 20th century while retaining its reputation as a prime manufacturer of fashionable and high-quality bone china.
The Lambeth factory closed in 1956 due to new clean air regulations that prevented the production of saltglaze in the urban environment. Following closure, all work was transferred to The Potteries.
On September 30, 2005, the Nile Street factory closed after being sold to developers. Higher-quality items are now made at the home of parent company Waterford Wedgwood in Barlaston, in the countryside south of the Potteries Conurbation. Almost all other Doulton pieces are made in Indonesia, although there is a move to return production to England.
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Quick Facts
Born:
London United Kingdom
Type(s):
Ceramacist / Potter
Categories Most Known For:
Artist Website:
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