The history of English art pottery begins over 600 years ago when the first potters made use of England's unique clay deposits to craft functional wares and ceremonial pieces. Britain sits atop what is known as the “London Clay Deposit”, a massive earthen formation.
English clay is useless for agriculture and dangerous for infrastructure. Early settlers realized its value in pottery, as it fires very easily and maintains a warm, yellowish hue. English pottery can be divided into 5 major categories - Earthenware, Stoneware, Porcelain, Salt-glazed ware, and Slipware. Slipware is where you will find mass-produced lines of English art pottery - as this technique involves the pouring of “slip” (a viscous clay mixture) over premade molds. The two categories Porcelain and Salt-glazed are home to some of the less commercial works.
Unlike California art pottery, English art pottery is too vast to be broken down into any unifying stylistic themes, rather it is simply the material and history that bind different English art potters together. Notable makers of English art pottery during its boom in the 1900s are Crown Ducal Ware, Decoro English, Dudson Brother, English Vance Avon, Minton, and Moorcroft.
