A tip for young players – “Bring a plate” is a term which is often used to party invitees. It’s a form of entertaining where costs and provisions are shared by all invited guests. You bring a plate of savoury or sweet food which will be added to the overall festive offerings for all to share. However, unknowing of this term, some dinner guests did in fact, bring a plate (empty), thinking that the hosts probably didn’t have enough of them for all the invitees to dine on.

If you are going to a fancy party or posh event, you might consider getting out some of your fine china for the occasion and present your food on a decorative Cauldon Pottery plate as shown here.

Cauldon Pottery was a firm established by Job Ridgway in 1774. He built a factory at Cauldon Place, Hanley, Staffordshire in 1802. Job’s two sons John and William joined the firm in 1808 which then became Ridgway and Sons, then J & W Ridgway after their father Job died. Later on, the pottery  was known as John Ridgway & Co.

By 1821, bone china of excellent quality emerged and it was during this time that John Ridgway became Potter to Queen Victoria. By 1858, he sold out his interest and died two years later.  The firm became:

• John Ridgway Bates & Co. (1856-1858),
• Bates, Brown-Westhead & Moore (1859-1862),
• Brown-Westhead, Moore and Co. (1862-1904).

The initials for these various firms formed the back-stamps for those times. The Crown in the back-stamp was introduced in 1891.

• The firm became Cauldon Ltd. in 1905 and the name again changed to Cauldon Potteries Ltd. in 1920.

The previous appointment to Queen Victoria allowed the firm to be known as Royal Cauldon and this was used in the back-stamp from 1930.  The firm was divided in 1962.

• The porcelain side was continued by E.W. Brain & Co. Ltd., now Coalport; in turn part of the Wedgwood Group. 
• Cauldon Potteries Ltd. was acquired by Pountney & Co. Ltd. of Bristol but this business failed in 1977.
• The name Cauldon Potteries Ltd. was re-established by the Perkes Ceramic Group of the Kingston & Ferrybridge Potteries in Yorkshire in 1985.

You can see other examples of china on my Porcelain page.

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