Hornsea Pottery

Hornsea Pottery was a business located in the coastal town of Hornsea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

The pottery was founded in 1949 in a small terraced house by brothers Colin and Desmond Rawson with initial funding from a friend and local business man, Philip Clappison. The factory's earliest pieces were mostly designed by Colin Rawson, these included Character Jugs and posy vases with attached animal figures. Their products sold well and they moved to larger premises and took on their first employee in 1950.

The continued expansion of the business brought about a move to an even larger site, at Edenfield, in 1954. At this time the business diversified and the Edenfield site became the first theme park in Britain. In 1984 the initial company floundered due to outside forces and financial difficulties and it was bought out in April of that year. Despite its difficulties, the factory continued to produce tableware and ornaments until April 2000 when it went into final receivership. In October 2008, Hornsea Museum in Newbegin, the main street of Hornsea, opened a permanent exhibition of Hornsea Pottery.

In 1949, Desmond and Colin Rawson started a business making plaster of Paris models to sell as souvenirs to tourists who were visiting the seaside town of Hornsea. Both had attended the Batley College of Art but they had no pottery making experience. They worked in the scullery of their kitchen at 4 Victoria Avenue in the town. Initial funding came from a friend and local business man, Philip Clappison. After the purchase of a small kiln they started working with clay. Additional funding was received from Charles Wright, a retired Morecambe hotelier, whose son, Micheal Wright, was working with Desmond on early products. Desmond Rawson's father-in-law Henry Knowles, a solicitor in Morecambe provided not only cash investment but all legal services for the rest of his life.

Their products sold well and by 1950 they took on their first employee and moved to larger premises at The Old Hall in the Hornsea Market Place. Robert (Bob) Hindle, Desmond's brother-in-law joined the company and provided additional share funding, and his 'straight dealing' policy provided the company with an excellent sales directorship for over 20 years.

In the mid-1950s, the Rawson brothers started to recognise the potential of Philip's son, John Clappison, a student at Hull College of Art who produced the stylish, contemporary Elegance range of wares which are much in demand with collectors today. In 1954 the business moved to the site of the defunct Hornsea Brick and Tile Works. At this time the Pottery also employed other noted designers such as Dorothy Marion Campbell and Alan Luckham as modeller. In 1967, the factory started to produce full ranges of tableware, the first being the John Clappison-designed Heirloom, followed by his Saffron and Bronte patterns.In the 1970s, the Queensbury-Hunt partnership became involved in Hornsea tableware design, their Contrast and Concept ranges proving popular. Though innovative, these products they were not always practical in use. By 1974 the Edenfield Works was employing 250 people and turning out three million pieces a year. From the mid-1950s, the Hornsea Pottery business was becoming more diverse. There were factory tours but beside being able to see the pottery being made it soon became 'a Pottery in a Garden' a day out for all the family. As facilities improved to attract more people to buy the company's very popular products it became larger and included a popular leisure site with a number of activities for children. These included a model village, birds of prey exhibition, car museum, a large adventure playground in the style of a wooden fort, remote control boats and go-karts. For adults, there were several cafés, the Hornsea Pottery shop and factory tour and, towards the end of the factory's lifetime, a number of shops which turned the site into an American style outdoor factory outlet mall, selling clothing and other items at reduced prices.