Pilkington
Pilkington's Tile and Pottery Company's most memorable product was Lancastrian Pottery, an exotic-looking line with an astonishing range of scientifically advanced glazes and glazing techniques. The company's co-founder William Burton, a trained scientist and an authority on the history of ceramic art, employed chemists who worked tirelessly to uncover the secrets of "old Persian, Indian, and Spanish potters" so that they could produce similarly soft iridescent effects. From the very earliest days, Pilkington's art director was John Chambers. But the firm also commissioned work from famed designers such as Walter Crane, Lewis F. Day and C.F.A.Voysey.
In the spirit of the Arts and Crafts Movement, decorations were based on a wide variety of sources, including heraldry, medieval artifacts, Middle-Eastern precedents, and the natural world. Tile production began in 1893, the production of ceramic items in 1897, and the manufacture of Lancastrian Pottery by around 1900. Lancastrian ware was exhibited in international exhibitions from an early date including Paris 1900, Milan 1904, Brussels 1910, Turin 1911. In 1913 Pilkington's was given the Royal Warrant by King George V and was then known as the Royal Lancastrian Pottery Company.