A new column in Homes & Antiques, and this month we are visiting Ridgway in Staffordshire!
Although many will know the name Ridgway, I think Job Ridgway is an unsung hero among pioneering British porcelain makers. Ridgway was a deeply religious and very talented man who grew up in poverty but quickly became a leading porcelain maker and founded a factory that would spark many other factories in the century after. Job and his sons John and William looked after their people and attracted many of the best decorators. Later, multiple other factories were founded by cousins and nephews - the Ridgway empire grew large throughout the 19th Century and well into the 20th Century.
Personally I love Ridgway porcelain: it tends to be rather thickly potted and very pleasing to the touch, and the decorations are often sublime. There is a huge variety in wares: from very simple cheap items to some of the fanciest dinner services ever produced in Britain. And there is a lot of confusion when it comes to identifying Ridgway; they didn't mark most of their wares and there is very little literature to help us make sense of it.
For a discounted subscription, head to Homes & Antiques, it is a wonderful magazine and you will be able to catch my monthly column about British porcelain. You can get a discounted subscription and order a free copy here. The free issue contains an interview with myself and several other collectors. The magazine is delivered all over the world but you can also get a digital subscription.