Bristol Ware

Bristol ware, hard-paste porcelain products that were produced between 1770 and 1781 at the porcelain manufactory located in Bristol, England.

The first factory to manufacture hard-paste porcelain in England was established in Plymouth in 1768 by William Cookworthy. Once the plant moved to Bristol in 1770, Cookworthy continued along previous lines, with such ware as ornamental figures that display much of the lavish, grandiose, or intricate character of Plymouth ware. The firm was taken over in 1774 by Richard Champion. Champion concentrated on tea and coffee services, flowers being the favoured decoration. More-sophisticated ornament, usually Neoclassic rather than Rococo, was reserved for commissioned work, which formed a large proportion of Bristol services. Soft-paste porcelain, usually known as Lund’s Bristol, was made at Benjamin Lund’s china factory in 1748–52, after which it was taken over by the Worcester Porcelain Company.