Kingston Pottery
Kingston Pottery was started in the mid-1970s by brothers John and Herbert Love. From 1962 the brothers had operated a number of pottery shops including one at 19 Trinity House Lane, Hull. The Love Brothers' shops sold a large volume of material made by Shorter & Son and when they went out of business in 1964 the brothers decided to produce their own pottery. Kingston Pottery started on a small scale and were assisted by Colin Rawson a leading designer with the Hornsea Pottery. They quickly learned the business and were able to increase production at an astonishing rate. The factory on Scarborough Street, off Hessle Road, used modern technology and used large capacity kilns to produce earthenware and china products, including figurines, large animal figural groups, Toby jugs and character jugs. #SUBHEADING# Export markets #SUBHEADINGEND# At its peak, Kingston Pottery produced between six to eight tons of pots every week. It produced some products especially for the American market, with the gift shop at the head of the Niagara Falls carrying a large selection of jugs made by Kingston Pottery. The firm also manufactured and supplied ceramic products such as kitchenware, bathroom accessories, planters and vases to major retail stores in Britain and overseas. Kingston Pottery purchased Royal Cauldon from Tim Brown to expand into bone china pudding ware and other fine porcelain items. In 1984 a third factory in Hull, Ferrybridge Pottery, was bought to keep up with growing demand. #SUBHEADING# Decline of Kingston Pottery #SUBHEADINGEND# The downfall of the Kingston Pottery was the UK coal miners' strike in December 1984. The strike forced Kingston Pottery to buy coal from the continent which was coarser, harder to manage burned less efficiently and cost more. The combination of increased costs with declining orders meant that in June 1985 the firm went of business. The factories were taken-over by Cauldon Potteries to produce its own high volume products. Some of the moulds for the large animal groups were sold to Masterpiece Sculpture Ltd of Hull, which continued to produce and market them. However, many of the moulds were destroyed when the business changed hands, some by disgruntled mould makers. The shops were also affected by the financial hardships and did continue for a couple of years before they too closed down.
