Hollinshead & Kirkham

History of Hollinshead & Kirkham

Hollinshead & Kirkham, otherwise known as H & K Tunstall (1870 - 1956) were originally from Burslem in Staffordshire, UK (1870 - 1876) and moved their pottery works to nearby Tunstall in 1876.  In 1890 they took over the Unicorn Works pottery.  The pottery was incorporated into the Johnson Bros Group in 1956.

In the early 1920's designer Harold Growcott joined the pottery and designed a range of hand-painted designs on porcelain.  The designs featured an abstract background painted in two or more colours, on top of which bold fruit or floral designs were painted.  These designs were known as the "Delicious Dozen", although there were actually fourteen different pattern designs.  Some of these pattern names are Anemone, Autumn, Gaiety, Iris, Lucia, Luscious, Panola, Primula, Tulip Time and Viola.  These patterns are sometimes unfairly described as "the poor man's Moorcroft".  These patterns were mostly produced between both World Wars.