The Towneley Collection > Pilkington Royal Lancastrian Pottery

Pilkington’s Tile & Pottery Co. was a manufacturer of ceramics based in Clifton, Greater Manchester; it was established in 1892 by the brothers Joseph and William Burton.

They supervised the development of a wide range of new and unusual types of glaze, and began painting wares in the coloured lustres for which the company is famous.

They employed many famous and talented designers of the time, including Charles Voysey, Walter Crane, Lewis F. Day, Gordon Forsyth and Richard Joyce – who made the pot pictured here.

Towneley was bequeathed 162 Pilkington objects in 1984 by Thomas Nuttall, a Burnley cotton mill owner, who had begun collecting Pilkington pottery in 1957.

He kept a record of his purchases: this vase was bought from Greenwoods, Abbey Antiques, Accrington in 1960 for £7 10s 0d (£7.50.)