Cornishware

a proud history

T.G. Green was founded by Thomas Goodwin Green back in 1864. Rumour has it that he bought up an existing pottery factory while he was on his honeymoon with his new wife, Mary Tenniel. (She was actually the sister Sir John, Tenniel, illustrator of Punch and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland!)

One of the company’s most popular lines was always Cornishware, which was first produced in 1924. It was created using a nifty lathe-turning technique that scraped blue slip away from its beautiful ceramics to reveal white bands of clay beneath. Those stripes reminded an employee of the blue skies and white-crested waves of Cornwall – which is how Cornishware got its name.

iconic design

The appearance of those familiar blue and white stripes in children’s books, adverts, fashion magazines, collectors’ websites and homes all over the world is testament to Cornishware’s timeless design and enduring popularity. From plates to cups to storage jars, Cornishware was such a roaring success that it soon became a household name, adorning dinner tables up and down the country.

ringing in the changes

In the 1960s, Cornishware’s look was updated by talented young designer, Judith Onions, and the restyled range was embraced as warmly as the originals. Over the past 20 years Onions’ designs, as well as the older ranges, have become highly prized by collectors, commanding ever-increasing prices.

Sadly, the story didn’t go as well for T.G.Green. As time went on, it became increasingly difficult for the Victorian pottery workshop to compete with modern industry. After a series of different owners tried their best the save the business, it closed down in 2007.

a new beginning…

Luckily, T.G.Green and Cornishware had fans in all the right places. Lifelong enthusiasts, Charles Rickards and Paul Burston, teamed up with designer and brand consultant, Perry Haydn Taylor, to come to the rescue. Thanks to their expertise, those wonderful stripes have been restored to their rightful position, and we are now thrilled to be gradually bringing production back to the UK with plates and bowls being hand decorated in the West Country.

Several lines are now made in Stoke-on-Trent and decorated in our pottery in the West Country by a team of very steady hands, and we are gradually increasing the items we make in England. Look out for the green back-stamps that denote the new Made in England products.