Minor factories. MAJOR ROLES

In the 19th century canny businessmen got in on the act of making pots, and they produced some fine pieces to rival many of the greats, says Willa Latham

- Willa Latham

It is thought that during the early 19th century there were around 300 factories in the Staffordshire Potteries, all churning out huge numbers of beautiful ceramics. This previously peaceful backwater had turned into a hellish landscape of bottle kilns firing day and night, belting out their noxious fumes and heat, surrounded by tightly packed workers' houses. While the famous factories are still celebrated today, much of the hard work in The Potteries took place in anonymity. We will never know the names and styles of every factory, and new discoveries are still being made today.

These lesser-known factories weren't necessarily smaller than the great ones, but they weren't founded by geniuses like Josiah Wedgwood, Josiah Spode or Job Ridgway. They were founded by families of smart people who built flourishing businesses, producing whatever happened to be the fashion of the day, and hiring the best workers they could afford. They may not have run showrooms in London or Bath, but they did well for themselves and weren't too fussed about the exact style of their items: they were in the business of making pots'. The result was a truly British style of porcelain that mixed up many trends. And they did one very important thing: they made new fashions mainstream. Their wares - less expensive than those of the major' factories - reached countless homes all over the world.