Moorcroft is one of my favourite ceramic factories, I love the uniqueness of each design and the wonderful colours used. I think one good piece of Moorcroft in a room really does add class and style.
Here's plenty of pictures and a brief history of the company;
The Moorcroft factory originally started as a studio pottery in 1897 under the wing of the large ceramic company James Macintyre & Co based in Cobridge Park, near Leek in the Midlands of England. The pottery was almost an instant success and them along with its young designer William Moorcroft soon became known worldwide, each piece personalised with his initials or signature.
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| The signed base of one of the vases below also shown is the registration number of the design. |
In 1912 the Moorcroft factory broke away from James Macintyre & Co setting up new premises in nearby Sanbach Road. This same factory is where Moorcroft is produced today.
Moorcroft and their new factory was financed by the quality London store Liberty and continued to be until controlled by them until 1962.
In 1904 the Moorcroft factory began to win medals and commendations beginning with a gold medal at the International Exhibition in St Louis and culminating in 1928 with a royal appointment as potter to HM The Queen.
When William Moorcroft died in 1945 his soon took over the day to day running and design and in 1962 the Moorcroft family finally bought out Liberty. The company however failed to aspire to anything like it had previously and in 1984 the Moorcroft family sold their share on the open market. The company is now controlled by the Edwards family and has been since 1993.
Today Moorcroft continues to produce art pottery and regularly issues limited collectors pieces, this in turn has led to a huge international following with collectors groups forming worldwide to trade pieces. Even the major auction houses of Sotheby's & Christies now hold regular sales in both London and New York.
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