Porcelain and pottery marks - Worcester marks

The first porcelain factory in Worcester, England, was founded in 1751. John Wall (a doctor) and William Davis (an apothecary), along with 14 other businessmen, invested in a porcelain factory at Warmstry House, Worcester, England. The factory was named The Worcester Tonquin Manufactory. The first products were made from soft-paste porcelain. In 1756, Robert Hancock invented printing on porcelain in Worcester. In 1774, Dr. Wall retired and left William Davis in charge of the factory.

In 1783, Thomas Flight bought the factory for his sons Joseph and John. The company had held a Royal Warrant of Appointment since 1788. Martin Barr joined the company as a partner in 1792. During this period, wares were often marked with an incised capital B.

Thomas Flight died in 1800 and the management of the factory was taken over by his son Joseph Flight and Martin Barr. Soapstone porcelain was produced during this time.

In 1840, the Flight and Barr business merged with Chamberlain's Factory. Chamberlain's Factory and Grainger's Factory produced hard-paste porcelain in Worcester. Robert Chamberlain established a porcelain factory in Severn Street in Worcester. Chamberlain's Factory began producing high-quality porcelain in 1791. In 1820, Chamberlain started experiments with the production of bone china.

The new owners William Henry Kerr and Richard William Binns rebuilt the business after a fire in 1851. The factory in Severn Street concentrated on figurines and vases until 1887.

The Worcester Royal Porcelain Co Ltd was formed in 1862. 

Grainger's Factory had been making porcelain in Worcester since 1807, although the quality was not as good as Chamberlain's Factory. It was bought by Royal Worcester in 1889. The factory and the name Grainger & Co. were used until 1902.

In 1905 Royal Worcester acquired the factory of James Hadley and Sons. Hadley & Sons Art Pottery was set up in Worcester in 1896.

In 1914, Royal Worcester began producing hard-paste porcelain for hospitals, laboratories, and schools on behalf of the government. In 1931, the company introduced tableware made of fireproof porcelain.

In 1934, Royal Worcester was bought by Charles Dyson Perrins. He became a chairman.

In 1954, the Worcester Royal Porcelain Co. became a public company.

In 1976, Royal Worcester merged with Spode. Growing competition forced the company to relocate production to Stoke and abroad. The company went into administration in 2008. The brand name and intellectual property were acquired by the Portmeirion Pottery Group.

Worcester porcelain marks - dating

The Royal Worcester factory marks contain the number 51, which refers to the date of the company's foundation (1751). Between 1862 and 1875, in rare cases, two final digits of the year were printed below the standard mark.

From 1867, the factory used a letter system to indicate the year of production.

From 1891 a standard printed mark was introduced. Royal Worcester items bearing the standard printed mark were also marked with symbols in combination with the words "Royal Worcester England" or alternatively with a system of dots.

From 1916 below the standard printed mark appears an asterisk or a star.

After 1927 the asterisk and dots were replaced.

From 1942 until 1948, the mark was left unchanged.

From the mid-1960s, a new mark was introduced for bone china items. The dates included in the stamps indicated the year in which the design was introduced.

In 1988, Royal Worcester introduced a system for marking the year of manufacture used by Spode (M in a diamond). In 1989 they used N within a diamond, and in 1990 the R in a circle.

A grey lithographer identification number was introduced in 1990. The number has a suffix indicating the year of production. From 2000, the number was printed in white.

xx - litographer number for example, 13.