William Moorcroft and the pottery works he founded, which bears the Moorcroft name, has produced some of the country’s most collectable ceramics for more than a century.
The designs often reflect a love of nature in stylized designs which capture flowers, landscapes, birds and animals. William Moorcroft’s first designs were produced for James Macintyre & Co from 1897. His art pottery often employed tube-lined decoration and the subtle use of hand painted glazes. It quickly caught the eye of prestigious stores like Liberty, Harrods and Tiffany & Co in New York. In 1913 William Moorcroft was able to move production of his pottery to Sandback Road thanks to significant financial investment from Liberty. It was here that W Moorcroft Ltd art pottery was manufactured for the first time. A fine example of Macintyre Moorcroft Florian Ware is the two-handled vase, circa 1900-02, decorated in the Peacock pattern against a pale ground, which gives expression to the Art Nouveau in both its form and decoration. It sold at Toovey’s for £4600. The pair of Eventide pattern Moorcroft Pottery vases were also designed by William Moorcroft and date form around 1925. They are vividly decorated with a sunset behind a stand of trees. It realised £2000 at Toovey’s.
William’s eldest son, Walter, took over the company on his father’s death in 1945 with responsibility for much of the design work. Walter bought out Liberty’s interest in the firm in 1962. With rising fuel and labour costs the business was sold to Roper Brothers in 1984. By 1986 their attempt to mass produce Moorcroft Pottery had failed and they sold the company to Hugh Edwards and Richard Dennis whose wife Sally Tuffin produced designs for Moorcroft until she left with her husband to found the Dennis China Works. Sally’s designs provided a more contemporary voice to the Moorcroft style incorporating animals, birds and flowers. During this period Walter Moorcroft was joined by Rachel Bishop as the pottery’s chief designer. Rachel created floral patterns in a historical manner often drawing influence from William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement.
To this day Moorcroft’s pottery designs are beautifully created in the handmade, labour intensive way that they have been for most of the factory’s history. They appeal to the luxury market and are sought after by collectors from around the world. Toovey’s English & European ceramics specialist Joanne Hardy is inviting entries for her next specialist sale of Moorcroft to be held on Thursday 5th December 2024.
