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Wedgwood has been an international company for over two centuries.
Founded in 1759 upon the highest standards to uphold these essential
factors in maintaining its leading position throughout the markets
of the world.The
founder, Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795), who is remembered as ‘the
Father of English Potters’, was born in Burslem, Staffordshire, in
the heart of the English potteries.
He
served his apprenticeship as a potter before setting up his own
business in 1759.
By 1766 he had prospered
sufficiently to build a new factory, which he named Etruria. Josiah
was to sow the first seeds of the innovative spirit, which continues
to be an integral part of Wedgwood. During his lifetime he invented
and produced what remain today three of Wedgwood’s most famous
ceramic bodies - Queen’s Ware (1762), Black Basalt (1768) and
finally Jasper (1774).
In the nineteenth
century, important progress was made at the Wedgwood factory in the
use of new machinery, the introduction of the first coloured
earthenware bodies and, most importantly, the manufacture of bone
china. Wedgwood bone china tableware was to grace the tables of many
illustrious homes throughout the world, including the dinner service
which President Theodore Roosevelt ordered for the White House.
During the 1930’s,
Wedgwood’s success continued and in order to increase efficiency,
the fifth Josiah Wedgwood decided to build a new factory. A country
estate near the village of Barlaston was purchased and a new, modern
factory was built. Production started in the 1940’s and has
continued at the site ever since. Here, Wedgwood continues its
living tradition of progress in design, in production methods and in
the skills of its many craftspeople. In 2000, a modern visitor
centre was added to the complex to cater for the huge interest
in Wedgwood. |
