- Hornsea Pottery
Hornsea Pottery, also known as Hornsea Freeport, is a
pottery factory inHornsea in theEast Riding of Yorkshire was founded by brothersColin Rawson andDesmond Rawson with funding from a local business man, Philip Clappison1949 . The factory's earliest pieces were mostly designed by Colin Rawson, these included Character Jugs and posy vases with attached animal figures.In the mid 1950s the Rawson brothers started to recognise the potential of Philip's son,John Clappison . He was asked to produce the stylish, contemporary wares which are much in demand with collectors today. The Pottery also employed other noted designers such asDorothy Marion Campbell andAlan Luckham . In 1967, the factory started to produce full ranges of tableware the first being the John Clappison-designed Heirloom, followed by his Saffron and Bronte patterns.In the 1970s, the Queensbury-Hunt partnership became involved in Hornsea tableware design, their Contrast and Concept ranges proving popular.Despite financial difficulties, the factory continued to produce tableware and ornaments untilApril 2000 when it went intoreceivership .The Intellectual Properties of Hornsea Potteries including all the designs and trade marks were acquired at the time of receivership by Hornsea Potteries Intellectual Properties Ltd. Most of the designs are digitized and will be reissued both in the original format and as appropriate consumer goods.
From the 1960s Hornsea Pottery was a popular leisure site with a number of activities for children including; a model village,
birds of prey exhibition, car museum, a largeadventure playground in the style of a woodenfort ,remote control boats andgo-kart s. For adults, there were severalcafé s, the Hornsea Pottery shop and factory tour and, towards the end of the factory's lifetime, a number of shops which turned the site into an American style outdoorfactory outlet mall, selling clothing and other items at reduced prices. The factory outlet.Hornsea Freeport still exists today, though several facilities such as the go-karts and model village have been closed due to infestations. Many of the stores are also going through redevelopment.
External links
* [http://www.hornseacollector.co.uk/ Hornsea Collector]
* [http://www.pccl.karoo.net/ Hornsea Pottery Society]
* [http://www.freeporthornsea.info/home.asp Freeport Hornsea]
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