MEETINGS PROGRAMME

The Caughley Society holds two meetings a year at the Coalport China Museum site, near Ironbridge in Shropshire, England, home of the national Caughley porcelain collection. The Spring meeting is normally held on the first Saturday in April (unless this coincides with the Easter holiday period), and the Autumn one on the first Saturday in October. Visitors are welcome. Full details of each meeting are published on this website as soon as they are available. Other events are also organised.

If you would like to attend one of our meetings, please send us an email by clicking on the 'Contact Us' button on the left of this page.

AUTUMN MEETING

Saturday 6 October 2012

GAYE BLAKE-ROBERTS: Caughley ceramics in social use

Gaye Blake-Roberts joined Wedgwood as Curator of the Wedgwood Museum and became the Museum’s Trust Director in 2003. The new Wedgwood Museum reopened to the public under Gaye’s leadership in 2008 and won the Museum of the Year award in 2009. Before joining Wedgwood, Gaye was on the staff of the V&A working in the ceramics and glass department. During this time she was given special leave to assist in the formation of the Coalport Museum. Gaye is an FRSA and has written extensively on ceramics and lectured on a worldwide basis. Her talk will consider Caughley ceramics in the light of what they may have signified to 18th century consumers and more specifically the context in which they were actively used.

JOHN BUSSEY: A Lowestoft red herring

John Bussey is a collector and researcher of Lowestoft porcelain and has studied the history of the factory site from its inception c.1756 to the present day. The factory was, for the second half of its life, contemporary with Caughley although not in direct competition with it, primarily because of its location. John has taken a specific interest in the lives of some of the principal Lowestoft painters and the details of some transfer printed patterns specific to that factory and has spoken at various seminars on the subject. He will present a short overview of the factory explaining how his research into one particular pattern led to the title of his talk.

NEIL CLARKE: John Randall and the East Shropshire manufactories

Neil Clarke is a founder member of the Broseley Local History Society. Editor of its annual journal since 1973 and a contributor to the Randall anniversary conference and proceedings in 2010, he was a headmaster before retirement. He has spoken widely on industrial and transport history at both local and regional levels. John Randall was born in Broseley and had direct links with all three of the local porcelain factories. He was one of the foremost artists at Coalport. In his talk Neil will examine Randall’s early life up to the time he began working at Coalport.

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