The name Brown-Westhead, Moore was almost lost to posterity until collectors rekindled interest in its wares nearly a hundred years after its demise. During its late 19th Century heyday, Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co. was one of the largest potteries in the world, winner of numerous international prizes, and a supplier to European royalty. Nowadays its porcelains in particular are appreciated for their boldness and originality of design.

The firm operated the famous Cauldon Place Works, in today’s Stoke-on-Trent, that Job Ridgway had established in about 1802 and were later used by his sons John and William (see timeline below). Thomas Chappell Brown-Westhead and William Moore took over the factory in December 1861. The new firm of T.C. Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co. produced a vast array of ceramics between 1862 and 1904, from sanitary and toilet wares, majolica and tiles, to ornamental and table porcelain. In 1885, the Cauldon Place Works were said to cover an area of about 32 hectares, with 14 kilns and 20 ovens, and between 1400 and 1500 employees, making it there largest pottery in England. Brown-Westhead, Moore had imposing showrooms in London, Paris and Hamburg and won numerous prizes at international exhibitions held in Europe and the United States.

Why the once renowned firm later slid into obscurity is a matter for conjecture. One reason is that surprisingly few of its wares, including the most costly and prestigious, bore any backstamp. Identification today often relies on shape, style and pattern numbers that are always prefixed by a letter.

Perhaps the name, more akin to a legal practice, was also to blame. This explains why later wares were often branded ‘Cauldon’ and in the early 20th Century the company became Cauldon (Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co.) Ltd.

Cauldon maintained high standards, the works were visited by royalty, and prizes continued to be won, but there were worrying signs of financial difficulty. A change of ownership in 1920 resulted in a new name, Cauldon Potteries Ltd., and the acquisition of Coalport in 1925. After riding the wave of amalgamation that swept through the English Potteries, Cauldon itself was eventually swallowed up, although ‘Royal Cauldon’ survived as a brand until 1977.

TIMELINE OF THE CAULDON PLACE WORKS

1802-1808        Job Ridgway

1808-1814        Job Ridgway & Son(s)

1814-1830        John & William Ridgway

1830-1855        John Ridgway (& Co)

1856-1858        John Ridgway, Bates & Co

1859-1861        Bates, Brown-Westhead & Moore

1862-1904        T.C. Brown-Westhead, Moore & Co.

1905-1920        Cauldon Ltd.

1920-1962        Cauldon Potteries Ltd

 

© Cotswold Antiques, 2018