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Spode

Spode is a renowned English brand of fine bone china, porcelain, and earthenware pottery, founded in 1770 by Josiah Spode I in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.^[1] The company revolutionized the ceramics industry through key innovations, including the development of underglaze transfer printing around 1784 and the introduction of bone china in 1796, which combined animal bone ash with clay and feldspar to create a durable, translucent material.^[2] It gained fame for iconic designs like the Willow pattern, first produced around 1790, and became a supplier to the British royal family starting in 1806.^[3] Following Josiah Spode I's death in 1797, his son Josiah Spode II expanded the business, enhancing bone china production and introducing felspar porcelain in 1822, which helped establish Spode as one of the largest potteries in Staffordshire by the early 19th century.^[2] In 1833, after the Spode family's involvement ended, William Taylor Copeland acquired the firm, renaming it Copeland & Garrett before it became W.T. Copeland & Sons in 1846, a name it retained until 1966 while continuing to innovate with items like Parian ware in the 1840s.^[3] The company received multiple royal warrants and supplied tableware globally, contributing to the export of British ceramics during the Victorian era.^[4] In the 20th century, Spode faced challenges including World War II utility restrictions in 1941 and acquisition by the Carborundum Group in 1966, leading to a reversion to the Spode name in 1970.^[3] The brand entered administration in 2008 but was rescued and integrated into the Portmeirion Group in 2009, preserving its heritage while adapting to modern markets.^[3] Today, Spode continues production in Stoke-on-Trent, with plans announced in 2025 to repatriate a significant portion of manufacturing to the UK, and remains celebrated for classic patterns like Blue Italian alongside contemporary designs.^[5] The Spode Works site, operational since around 1750, now also hosts cultural events such as the British Ceramics Biennial.^[6]

Founding and Early Development

Establishment in Stoke-on-Trent

Josiah Spode I, born on 23 March 1733 in Lane Delph, Stoke-on-Trent, to poor parents, began his career in the pottery industry after his father's early death. At age 16 in 1749, he was apprenticed to the prominent potter Thomas Whieldon in Fenton, Staffordshire, where he honed his skills in ceramic production until age 21. Following his apprenticeship, Spode worked for various local potters before establishing his own business around 1770, taking over the Old Staffordshire Pottery on Church Street in Stoke-on-Trent on mortgage; this site, previously operated by others since the 1750s, became the foundation of the Spode manufactory.^[3]^[1] The establishment focused initially on producing high-quality earthenware and creamware, materials that were in demand for their durability and refined appearance. Spode entered into a financial partnership with solicitor William Tomlinson to support the venture, leveraging the factory's strategic location near abundant local clay sources in the Staffordshire region, which provided essential raw materials and reduced transportation costs. By the mid-1770s, operations had expanded significantly amid growing demand for Staffordshire ceramics. Early products were exported to markets in Europe and America, establishing Spode's reputation for quality beyond Britain.^[3]^[7] From these early operations, transfer printing techniques began to emerge as a key decorative method, enhancing the appeal of Spode's earthenware. Josiah Spode I died suddenly on 18 August 1797 at age 64, after which the business transitioned smoothly to his son, Josiah Spode II, who continued and expanded the family enterprise.^[3]^[2]

Innovations in Transfer Printing

Josiah Spode I refined the technique of underglaze blue transfer printing around 1783-1784, building on earlier overglaze methods developed by potters such as Thomas Turner at Caughley and engravers like Enoch Wood. This innovation allowed for the application of intricate designs directly onto the unglazed surface of earthenware, which was then glazed and fired, resulting in a durable decoration that became a hallmark of Staffordshire pottery. Spode's advancements marked a significant shift from labor-intensive hand-painting, enabling the production of high-quality, uniform patterns on a larger scale during the early Industrial Revolution.^[2]^[8]^[9] The process began with engraving detailed designs onto copper plates by skilled artists, followed by applying a mixture of cobalt oxide pigment and oil to the warmed plate, which was then scraped clean to leave the color only in the incised lines. This inked plate was pressed against thin tissue paper coated with soap to transfer the design, creating a flexible print that could be cut into sections for assembly on curved ceramic surfaces. The tissue was dampened, positioned on the unfired bisque ware—starting with the central motif and adding borders—and rubbed down firmly before soaking in water to dissolve the paper, leaving the pigment adhered to the clay. The piece was then glazed and fired at approximately 1070°C, where the cobalt reacted with the silica in the glaze to produce the characteristic vivid blue color, ensuring the pattern's permanence and resistance to wear. This method's precision and repeatability revolutionized decoration, as multiple impressions could be taken from a single plate.^[8]^[10] Among the earliest and most successful patterns were the Willow design, introduced by Spode between 1784 and the 1790s, featuring a romantic Chinese-inspired landscape with pagodas, bridges, and willow trees that captured public imagination and became an enduring export staple. The Blue Italian pattern, launched around 1816, depicted classical ruins framed by an oriental floral border, drawing from 18th-century Imari influences and achieving widespread commercial acclaim for its elegance on dinner services. These patterns exemplified the technique's versatility, with Spode producing thousands of pieces annually, drastically reducing costs compared to hand-painted equivalents—often by a factor of ten—and making fine tableware accessible to the growing middle class while boosting the firm's international reputation. The speed of printing, combined with the prints' durability under daily use, facilitated the mass production of complete dinner sets, transforming the pottery industry.^[2]^[11]^[12]

Creation of Bone China

Josiah Spode I initiated the development of bone china in the 1790s at his Stoke-on-Trent factory, experimenting with the addition of bone ash to achieve greater translucency and strength compared to earlier soft-paste porcelains.^[13] The first soft-paste version emerged around 1794, though production remained limited due to formulation inconsistencies.^[13] Following Spode I's death in 1797, his son Josiah Spode II refined the process, achieving a stable formula by 1800 that established bone china as a viable English porcelain body.^[14]^[2] The precise composition of Spode's bone china consisted of approximately 50% bone ash (calcined animal bone), 25% china clay, and 25% Cornish stone (a feldspar-rich rock), which provided the mixture's characteristic whiteness, durability, and semi-vitreous quality.^[14] This formulation, derived from local ingredients and animal-derived flux, marked a significant departure from imported hard-paste porcelain.^[14] The body was fired in coal-fired kilns, with the bisque stage reaching 1200–1250°C to vitrify the material while preserving its translucency.^[14] Production presented notable challenges, including high shrinkage rates of up to 15% during drying and firing, which often led to cracking, as well as warping in the bisque stage due to uneven contraction from the bone ash content.^[13] These issues were addressed through meticulous clay mixing to ensure homogeneity and the use of specialized mold designs that supported pieces during firing, allowing for more consistent shapes and reduced defects.^[13] Such innovations enabled scalable manufacturing, distinguishing Spode's bone china from earlier experimental porcelains. Spode's bone china achieved commercial prominence with the exhibition of complete dinner services in 1806, showcasing its fine quality and appeal to elite markets.^[15] That same year, following a visit to the factory by the Prince of Wales (later King George IV), Josiah Spode II received the first royal warrant as "Potter and English Porcelain Manufacturer to the Prince of Wales," elevating the product's status and facilitating broader adoption.^[2]^[3] This patronage underscored bone china's role in advancing English ceramics, later allowing techniques like transfer printing to be applied to its surfaces for decorative enhancement.^[15]

Key Products and Materials

Stone China Formulation

Spode's Stone China was introduced in 1813 as a cost-effective, durable alternative to bone china, offering semi-translucency while being harder and more resistant to damage. The body originated from a formula patented by John and William Turner in January 1800, which Spode acquired in 1805 following the Turners' bankruptcy, enabling production after the patent's expiration in 1807.^[16]^[17]^[18] Marketed under the brand "Spode's Stone China," it was positioned to rival expensive oriental porcelain imports through elaborate Chinese-inspired designs and a specialized glaze that imparted a stone-like finish and enhanced durability.^[19]^[20] The formulation emphasized a high kaolin content blended with calcined flint, creating a semi-vitrified earthenware body fired at relatively low temperatures around 1150–1200°C for opacity, strength, and chip resistance. This composition reduced reliance on costly materials compared to bone china, lowering overall production expenses while supporting the manufacture of larger items like vases and dinner services.^[21]^[22] Notable examples include early 19th-century dinner services featuring transfer-printed patterns, which highlighted the body's suitability for intricate decorations and everyday use.^[17]

Other Porcelain Variants

In the early 1800s, Spode experimented with feldspathic porcelain, a hard-paste imitation formulated using Cornish stone (a feldspathic rock) and kaolin without bone ash to achieve greater translucency and strength comparable to continental hard-paste varieties.^[23] This variant represented an effort to refine porcelain bodies beyond traditional soft-paste formulas, allowing for finer tableware that fused at lower temperatures while maintaining a glassy white finish.^[24] During the 1840s, Spode introduced parian ware, an unglazed, marble-like porcelain designed primarily for sculptural pieces such as busts and figures. Primarily composed of kaolin, flint, and feldspar, this body provided a smooth, matte surface that mimicked the appearance of Parian marble from the Greek island of Paros, enabling affordable mass production of decorative art.^[25]^[26] Praised by contemporaries for its fidelity to marble, parian ware was used for items like tinted statuettes and groups, expanding Spode's range into neoclassical and Victorian ornamental ceramics.^[27] Later in the 19th century, Spode developed additional porcelain variants tailored for durability and aesthetic appeal in everyday use, including ironstone china, a non-translucent, robust material produced from the 1820s onward as a cost-effective alternative to fine porcelain for tableware.^[21] Ironstone china, evolving from Spode's earlier stone china formulations around 1813, featured a dense, chip-resistant body suitable for domestic and export markets, often decorated with transfer-printed patterns.^[21] Meanwhile, highlighted Spode's innovation in optical effects, appealing to mid-Victorian tastes for exotic, shimmering finishes in vases and decorative items. Specific examples of Spode's experimentation include jasperware produced in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.^[28] In the 20th century, Spode revived fine stoneware traditions, incorporating Art Deco influences and mid-century modern designs into durable bodies for both functional and ornamental pieces, sustaining the firm's legacy amid shifting consumer preferences.^[29]

Business Expansion and Legacy

19th-Century Growth and Family Succession

Following the death of Josiah Spode I in 1797, his son Josiah Spode II assumed leadership of the pottery works, guiding the business through a period of substantial expansion until his own death in 1827. Under Spode II's direction, the factory relocated to larger premises in Stoke-on-Trent in 1805, incorporating advanced steam-powered machinery, including a Boulton and Watt 10 HP rotative steam engine installed as early as 1802 for grinding flint and glazes, which enhanced production efficiency. This move supported growing output, amid increasing competition from rivals like Coalport and Worcester. The firm became the largest pottery in Stoke, employing a significant workforce that reflected its industrial scale by the 1830s.^[30]^[4]^[31] Market dominance was bolstered by prestigious royal appointments, including a 1806 warrant from the Prince of Wales naming Spode II as "Potter and English Porcelain Manufacturer to His Royal Highness," which elevated the brand's status and facilitated exports. Shipments via steamships to America and other international markets grew, with bone china and stone china variants proving particularly popular for their durability and translucency in overseas trade. By the 1820s, Spode's innovations in transfer printing and porcelain formulations had secured a leading position in the global ceramics trade.^[32]^[4]^[33] After Spode II's death in 1827, his son Josiah Spode III briefly took over management alongside partner William Taylor Copeland, but Spode III died in 1829, leaving the business under executors and factory managers until 1833. In that year, William Taylor Copeland, son of the earlier partner William Copeland, acquired the entire operation—including the Stoke factory, London warehouse, stocks, and worker housing—in partnership with Thomas Garrett, marking the end of direct family control by the Spodes. Under this new ownership, rebranded as Copeland and Garrett, the firm continued its growth, prominently featuring over 300 pieces, including Parian porcelain statues, at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, where they garnered international acclaim.^[32]^[34]^[30]

20th- and 21st-Century Ownership Changes

In the early 20th century, the Spode business operated as W.T. Copeland & Sons Ltd., a private limited company formed in 1932 after generations of Copeland family ownership that dated back to the 1830s.^[3] The firm remained under Copeland control until 1966, when it was acquired by the American Carborundum Company, marking the end of family stewardship after over 130 years. In 1970, the company rebranded as Spode Ltd. to honor its founder Josiah Spode, emphasizing its heritage in fine ceramics.^[35] This shift coincided with broader industry consolidation, leading to a 1976 merger with the Worcester Royal Porcelain Company, forming Royal Worcester Spode Ltd. and integrating Spode's production capabilities with Worcester's porcelain expertise.^[36] The late 20th century brought further corporate changes as Royal Worcester Spode navigated economic pressures in the ceramics sector. Acquired by LRC International in 1984 and then by Derby International in 1988, the UK operations were renamed The Porcelain and Fine China Companies Ltd.^[37] By the early 2000s, facing rising costs and declining demand, the firm outsourced significant production to the Far East, including facilities in Indonesia, to maintain competitiveness while retaining some UK manufacturing for premium lines.^[38] The 2008 global financial crisis precipitated a major crisis for Royal Worcester & Spode, leading to the administration of the company and the closure of its historic Stoke-on-Trent factory after 233 years of continuous operation on the site.^[39] This event resulted in around 450 job losses and marked the end of large-scale UK production, with much of the output shifting overseas to cut costs.^[40] In 2009, Portmeirion Group PLC, a Stoke-on-Trent-based pottery firm, acquired the Spode brand's intellectual property, trade names, and select assets from the administrators for approximately £3.2 million, preserving the legacy patterns like Blue Italian and enabling limited resumption of production at Portmeirion's nearby facilities.^[41]^[42] Under Portmeirion's ownership in the 21st century, Spode has focused on revitalizing its heritage through targeted production and global distribution. Following the acquisition, Portmeirion repatriated about 80 items from overseas outsourcing to its UK factory, prioritizing classic bone china designs for tableware and collectibles.^[40] By the 2020s, the brand expanded limited UK manufacturing in Stoke-on-Trent for select heritage lines, building on earthenware production to meet demand for authentic English ceramics amid growing interest in sustainable, local sourcing.^[5] As of 2025, Spode remains a key pillar of Portmeirion Group's portfolio, emphasizing fine bone china tableware, seasonal collections, and bespoke items sold worldwide, with ongoing investments in design innovation.^[1] The former factory site now hosts the Spode Museum Trust, which reopened in May 2025 after a period of closure, safeguarding over 70,000 molds, pattern books, and archives to preserve the brand's industrial legacy.^[43]^[44]

References

[1]
About Us - Spode
Celebrating its 250th anniversary in 2020, Spode is widely regarded as one of the UK's great ceramic brands. New designs such as Kingsley keep Spode at the ...
[2]
The First Spode Period 1776-1833
Josiah Spode I was born in 1733 and after several years working for other local potters, established his own company in 1776 in Church Street, (then known as ...
[3]
the history of the Spode potters - Thepotteries.org
The Spode family worked in pottery in Staffordshire as early as 1762. Three generations of the Spode family operated in Stoke-upon-Trent and the company ...
[4]
History of the Factory - The Spode Society
1754-1776 Josiah Spode I works as a journeyman and rents various premises making creamware, blue painted earthenware, caneware, basalt and redware. 1776 Spode I ...
[5]
Spode plans to move 'significant' portion of production back to U.K.
Jun 27, 2025 · Spode is building on its existing UK production to return a significant proportion of our manufacturing back to Stoke-on-Trent over the next 24 months.
[6]
British Ceramics Biennial 2025 at Spode Works, Stoke - Facebook
Oct 14, 2025 · The British Ceramics Biennial 2025 runs from 6 September to 19 October, showcasing creativity, heritage, and innovation through clay.
[7]
Josiah Spode, 1767-1833 - Thepotteries.org
In 1762, aged 29, Spode joined the works of John Turner and William Banks, who were operating a pottery in Stoke on the same site as the Spode works of today.
[8]
The Transfer Printing Process for Ceramics (U.S. National Park ...
Dec 14, 2021 · This Spode plate is decorated with a transferprint pattern called "Italian." It was found by archaeologists at Fort Vancouver. NPS Photo.Missing: patent | Show results with:patent
[9]
Guide to Buying Transfer Printed Pottery - Antiques Trade Gazette
The advent of underglaze transfer printing, perfected at the Spode factory in Stoke-on-Trent in 1784, marked a key moment in the history of British ceramics.
[10]
https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/a-z-of-ceramics
[11]
Dinnerware - Blue Italian - Spode
$$15 delivery 30-day returnsDiscover the beauty of Blue Italian dinnerware from Spode. Made in England and featuring a timeless design.
[12]
Spode Transfer Printed Ware 1784-1833
Spode Transfer Printed Ware, first published in 1983, has now been extensively enlarged and revised, listing and illustrating every known transfer print issued ...
[13]
Bone China - Diagnostic Artifacts in Maryland
Oct 31, 2016 · The initial development of bone china in the 1790s can be attributed to British potter Josiah Spode. He was producing limited quantities as ...Missing: invention | Show results with:invention
[14]
Bone China - Thepotteries.org
The firing temperature is much lower (1250º C) than for hard paste porcelain (1400º C). The potters could use their existing methods and ovens. The brilliance ...
[15]
Development of Bone China - Spode Exhibition Online
Josiah Spode II: Early History ... The formula Spode II used with such success was based on 25% each of china clay and china stone with 50% calcined bone.
[16]
Ironstone china | Antique, Staffordshire, England - Britannica
Oct 17, 2025 · In 1805 Turner sold his patent to Josiah Spode the Second, Stoke-upon-Trent, who called his bluish gray ceramic products stone china and new ...Missing: details | Show results with:details<|control11|><|separator|>
[17]
Stone China - Spode Exhibition Online
So popular were Spode's products that Queen Charlotte visited the Portugal Street showroom in 1817 and purchased a stone china service for herself. In about ...Missing: patronage | Show results with:patronage
[18]
http://www.thepotteries.org/allpotters/1008.htm
[19]
Spode - Graces Guide
Mar 9, 2020 · The father and son team of Josiah Spode I and II also perfected the recipe for bone china, which was first produced after much experimentation ...
[20]
W T Copeland (and Sons) - Thepotteries.org
In 1833 William Taylor Copeland and Thomas Garrett formed a partnership to continue the business of the famous Josiah Spode. After Thomas Garrett retired in ...Missing: composition 1813
[21]
Ironstone - Thepotteries.org
It is non vitrified. Stone ware is fired at a higher temperature, usually between 1175-1225ºC (2150-2350ºF), resulting in a non-porous, durable ...
[22]
pottery bodies and pastes
Although the inclusion of bone ash in pastes pre-dates 1794, its adoption by Josiah Spode ... stone china and iron-stone china. Fine stoneware. A generic term for ...
[23]
Spode and Felspar Porcelain
Spode used felspar in the body of his bone china as a purer replacement for Cornish or china stone. It helped the raw materials of the porcelain recipe fuse.
[24]
J. Victor Owen Antique Porcelain 101 - The Chipstone Foundation
CHINA STONE is granite that has had the feldspars altered to clay minerals by the action of hot water (hydrothermal solutions) circulating through the bedrock.<|separator|>
[25]
Spode Ware - Thepotteries.org
During the 1840s a new hard, white unglazed porcelain, known as "statuary porcelain" and later as "Parian" from its marble-like quality, was first produced. It ...Missing: composition | Show results with:composition<|separator|>
[26]
Copeland and Garrett Wares - Spode Museum Trust
The 1830s and 1840s was an important period in the development of ceramic design. Continental porcelain influenced a revived Rococo meeting the tastes in ...Missing: jasperware | Show results with:jasperware
[27]
Early Spode Wares
It is known that he produced a wide range of ceramic bodies, often imitating those of Wedgwood, including creamwares, basalts, stonewares, redwares, Jasperwares ...Missing: jasperware 1830s
[28]
20th Century Design - Spode Museum Trust
On this page we start our journey in the 1900s through to 2000 where we see hints of an earlier age, Art Deco, Art Pottery, cocktail time in the 1950s, ...Missing: fine revival
[29]
In Focus: How Spode went from local ceramics manufacturer to ...
Jun 18, 2020 · Instead, in the 20th century, the factory again excelled at transfer-printed earthenware and handpainted bone china. Several designs ...
[30]
Spode - A Collecting Guide - Antique Collecting
Jun 19, 2020 · A Spode bone china beaded matchpot on claw feet A bone china beaded ... temperature of 1,200°C. This results in a more durable material ...Missing: 1250 | Show results with:1250
[31]
The History of the Spode/Copeland Pottery
In 1776 Spode purchased his own pottery in Stoke-on-Trent and two years later he opened, under the management of his son, a London warehouse for the sale of ...
[32]
Josiah Spode II - Thepotteries.org
Spode remained at the forefront of bone china and stone china production until 1833, when the factory was acquired by William Taylor Copeland and Thomas Garrett ...Missing: 19th century succession expansion
[33]
The Copeland Period Part 1, 1833-1900 - Spode Museum Trust
In 1846, William Taylor Copeland acquired the company outright and he and four generations of his descendants controlled the company until 1966. William Taylor ...
[34]
The Copeland Period Part 2, 1901-1966 - Spode Museum Trust
By 1900, the company had been owned and managed by the Copeland family for 67 years, and was to remain so for as long again.
[35]
Worcester Factory Ownership
1976, Royal Worcester Ltd merged with Carborundum Co of Niagara Falls to become Royal Worcester Spode Ltd (the group now included Spode Inc, Spode Canada Ltd, ...
[36]
The Porcelain and Fine China Companies Ltd. - Encyclopedia.com
1976: Royal Worcester acquires control of Spode, forms Royal Worcester Spode. 1984: Royal Worcester Spode is acquired by LRC International.
[37]
Could Stoke-on-Trent's ceramics industry be on the verge of a ...
Nov 24, 2017 · At Spode, 80 per cent of production was moved to Indonesia. All this was part of the broader impact of globalisation. Other industrial-scale ...
[38]
TV star to transform Stoke-on-Trent's Spode pottery site - BBC News
Jul 11, 2017 · The site in Elenora Street has been largely unused since the company went into administration in 2008. Mr Brymer Jones said the move will create ...Missing: bankruptcy 2009
[39]
British Ceramics Biennial brings signs of a Potteries revival
Oct 2, 2011 · Eighty items that Spode had outsourced abroad were put into production at Portmeirion's Staffordshire factory, and the premises now produces ...
[40]
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Royal Worcester sale worth £3.2m
Apr 24, 2009 · The Stoke-on-Trent-based Portmeirion Group has acquired certain assets of pottery firm Royal Worcester and Spode, which went into administration.Missing: Fiskars 2015
[41]
History - Portmeirion Group PLC
Further enhancing its brand portfolio in 2009, Portmeirion acquired the intellectual property and trade names of Spode and Royal Worcester. Founded by Josiah ...
[42]
Spode pottery collection back on display after 17 years - BBC
May 2, 2025 · Pottery collection back on display after 17 years. 2 May 2025.
[43]
Spode Museum Trust
The Spode Museum Trust was established by Spode in 1987 as an independent charitable trust. We welcome guests from across the country.Opening Times · The Spode Collection · Exhibitions & Events · Digital Museum