Cornishware

The appearance of those familiar blue and white hoops in children’s books, adverts, fashion magazines, collector’s websites and, of course, homes all over the world demonstrate Cornish Ware’s status as a cast-iron British classic. Like cricket, the Wellington boot or the Mini, it’s a source of pride and even passion at home and a symbol of great Britishness abroad. Its history, however, has not been without its ups and downs.

Cornish Kitchenware was first produced in 1926 by TG Green & Company in Church Gresley, Derbyshire, a county famed for its pottery. The range’s special characteristic came from the lathe-turning process, which cut clean bands through its beautiful blue slip to show the white clay beneath. It was apparently this that inspired the name, since it reminded one TG Green employee of the clear blues and white-tipped waves of Cornwall.

In the years following its first production it became increasingly difficult for the Victorian pottery in Derbyshire to compete in the modern age and, after a series of owners had done their best since the Green family sold it in 1964, it finally went into receivership in 2007.

But this English classic could not be allowed to die, and, fortunately, a lifelong admirer teamed up with a designer and branding consultant, whose wife is an avid Cornishware collector, to come to the rescue. Together, they have the business expertise and passion to restore the classic blue and white hoops to their rightful position. Now produced in China to the same high standards as ever, the original shield-design backstamp has been restored.