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Crown Devon

History of Crown Devon

 

In 1878 Simon Fielding commenced development of the Railway Pottery at Sutherland Street, Stoke-On-Trent, which eventually would be overseen by four generations of the Fielding family, spanning 89 years.

The following year he was joined by his 24 year old son Abraham, who alone would become one of the greats of English pottery, and together they would create a company that for over a century few firms in the potteries could equal.

S Fielding & Co rapidy expanded and by the turn of the century the company was a leading manufacturer of a vast range of quality products.  Early period wares include a broad range of vellum shapes, such as the thames, etna, may, elm, erin and wick patterns.  Early majolica and indian examples are extremely collectible.  Fieldings also produced a range of royals, such as Royal Devon, Royal Chelsea, Royal Windsor, Royal Sussex and many others that feature extensive hand painting of the patterns.

In 1911 the name of the factory changed from Railway Pottery to Devon Pottery.  In 1917 they began development of the lustre concept, launching the Crown Devon range at the British Industries Fair in February 1918.  Crown Devon Lustrine is a higly iridescent ground, reflecting a myriad of colours when viewed at different angles to the light.  Base Lustrine colours include ruby, blue, green, yellow, orange, pink and pearl (known as pearline).

Over the next twelve years Crown Devon Lustrine technology progressively changed to a harder finish that ultimately lead to the highly glazed patina that is generally called Lustre.  In a stroke of brilliance in 1929 Abraham Fielding poached Enoch Boulton away from rival Carlton Ware to the position of chief designer at Crown Devon, and the next ten years represented the absolute peak of creative design at Crown Devon.

The intense rivalry in the 1930's between Carlton Ware and Crown Devon resulted in a truly remarkable output of art deco shapes and designs in the ever popular lustre wear market.  In this decade both companies produced lustre and other wares of unsurpassed quality, brilliance and beauty.

S Fielding & Co Ltd traded very successfully until the recession period in the english pottery industry during the late 1970's and early 1980's, which saw the loss of 20,000 jobs accross the industry, and subsequently this took its toll in this once proud and prosperous company.

In December, 1982 the factory gates were closed for the last time and some four years later the works were demolished.  However, the legend lives on in the wonderful products that are collected all over the world today.

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