Lowestoft

Lowestoft, Suffolk, England · Porcelain · also recorded as Lowestoft China Manufactory

Marks

The page transcribed for this entry records no mark for this factory. That is stated rather than filled in — a mark is not asserted here because the source does not give one.

What the source records

• Established in 1756 for the manufacture of pottery and porcelain, in soft paste.Chaffers 1891 · p.759
• About 1775 hard paste was introduced.Chaffers 1891 · p.759
• The origin traces to 1756, when Hewlin Luson of Gunton Hall near Lowestoft found fine clay on his estate and sent a sample to a china manufactory near London, where it proved finer than Delft ware. — Chaffers quoting Gillingwater, History of Lowestoft, 1790 — probably written some years earlierChaffers 1891 · p.759
• Luson erected a temporary kiln at Gunton, but London manufacturers tampered with his workmen and spoiled the ware, frustrating the scheme. — Chaffers quoting Gillingwater, History of Lowestoft, 1790Chaffers 1891 · p.759
• The undertaking was revived in 1757 by Messrs. Walker, Brown, Aldred & Richman, who bought houses on the south side of Bell Lane and converted them to the manufactory. — Chaffers quoting Gillingwater, History of Lowestoft, 1790Chaffers 1891 · p.759

Why this differs from other listings

Chaffers carries Gillingwater's 1790 account at length, including the failed Gunton attempt and the named 1757 partnership. Dating a Lowestoft piece hinges on the soft-paste / hard-paste change at about 1775, which is stated here with a source.

The source page