Rockingham Pottery

The Rockingham Pottery was a 19th-century manufacturer of porcelain of international repute, supplying fine wares and ornamental pieces to royalty and the aristocracy in Britain and overseas, as well as manufacturing porcelain and earthenware items for ordinary use.

It is best known for its finely decorated and, to modern tastes, somewhat gaudy rococo style of porcelain; indeed its name has almost come to classify such a style and as such pieces by other factories are regularly and incorrectly attributed to Rockingham. A famous piece is the (50kg) ornate item know as the Rhinoceros Vase (of which two are known) made to demonstrate the skill of producing such a large and complex item as a single piece of fired porcelain.

The factory was located in Swinton, near Rotherham, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, and for the later part of its lifetime existed under the patronage of the Earls Fitzwilliam, indirect descendants of the Marquesses of Rockingham, who were the major landowners in the area, and whose stately home and extensive park was located several miles away in Wentworth.

Records show that a potworks making utilitarian earthenware for the local market existed on the site in 1745. This passed through the hands of several owners including being linked for some time with the Leeds Pottery, until ownership eventually passed into the hands of the local Brameld family in 1806. After this time the Pottery was barely profitable and continued through considerable assistance from the Earl. Experiments with the manufacture of porcelain began in 1820. By 1826 the pottery was bankrupt. However the Bramelds' experiments with porcelain had just come to fruition and the Earl was impressed by the potential of the new products. He bailed out the pottery and allowed his family's crest and name to be used by the pottery. Production of fine porcelain services and ornamental wares commenced rapidly, which through the connections of the Earl brought the factory to the attention of the aristocracy. Orders from royalty lead to use of the sub-title "Manufacturer to the King" from 1831.

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