ROYAL STAFFORD CLOVELLY SET

by Ella
(Somerset)

ROYAL STAFFORD CLOVELLY SET:- Hello, I am a little confused because I have ROYAL STAFFORD CLOVELLY SET as in an attached photo. I would like to know the production date but when I search on your web sites I have found this information (Royal Stafford Article):

“Royal Stafford is a 'brand name' backstamp of an English company from Staffordshire called Thomas Poole. (...) Thomas Poole were founded in 1880 and were formerly known as Johnson & Poole. The 1845 date on many of their pottery marks, presumably comes form the inception of that company, although this is not corroborated by my books. In 1952 the company was re-formed to become known as "Royal Stafford China". This company was an amalgamation of the the two firms of Thomas Poole and Gladstone China Ltd.”

In addition I found some ebay sites with very diffrent information about age of this set for example:

1940-1959

1960-1979

1980

Could anybody help me, I am very confused, please....

Ella

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ROYAL STAFFORD CLOVELLY SET

Hi Ella

I am not sure exactly why you are confused. The Royal Stafford backstamp was used by Thomas Poole from 1912 onwards, and in 1952, they changed their name to 'Royal Stafford China'.


This means your Clovelly patten could haver been made anytime from 1912 to more recent times, as Royal Stafford survived longer than most firms. The history of ownership is very telling in a case like this with regards to dating a set.

Of course, the most accurate way of dating would be to date the mark shown in your photos. The problem is neither Kovels nor Godden's Encyclopedia show this exact mark at all, so one can only take a guess.

Clues are as follows:-

Marks not shown in Goddens are often more recent.

The cleaner the mark, the newer it is (yours looks clean).

Imaginary dates (1845) for establishment of the firm tend to be a more modern invention (the firm was actually founded in 1880. Johnson & Poole were the previous partnership, founding date unknown - presumably 1845)

Hope that clears up some of the confusion for you

Peter (admin)

p.s. The following page is a 'must see' if you are researching fine china - for value and identification:-

Researching the identity and value of antique and vintage fine china.

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