Sir Henry Doulton
The Doulton mausoleum
The Doulton mausoleum
The Lambeth Pottery at Vauxhall had produced drain and sewer pipes, but when Henry Doulton took the reins he was persuaded to let art students experiment with decorative vases, jugs and plant pots. The Art Department brought the company international renown.
With an extraordinary vision of equality, his workforce became overwhelmingly female.
The Doulton mausoleum
The Doulton mausoleum
The Doulton mausoleum
Jane leads a tour group to Henry Doulton's mausoleum at West Norwood Cemetery, decorated with Doulton ceramic tiles.
The Lambeth School of Art
The Lambeth School of Art
The Lambeth School of Art
Henry Doulton became the Lambeth School of Art's most passionate advocate. Founded in 1854, from the late 1860s onwards, LSA effectively became the training ground for Doutton's ceramic designers and sculptors. Doulton employees at the LSA won major prizes in the national art exams and competitions, and were rewarded with increments to their salaries.
Florence Lewis
The Lambeth School of Art
The Lambeth School of Art
Doulton artist Florence Lewis took over the teaching of ceramic painting at the School. Writing the definitive guidebook to Faïence decoration, she taught generations of Doulton employees in after-work classes, offering free tuition to girls who couldn't afford to pay for classes.
Hannah Barlow
Arthur Barlow jug
Arthur Barlow jug
Hannah Barlow was the first female student at the Lambeth School of Art to take up a full-time post at Doulton’s in 1871. To this day she remains the most famous of Doulton’s women ceramic artists. Unlike most, Hannah had a privileged upbringing and was privately educated. But her father’s early death forced Hannah and her siblings to support themselves as professional artists (at that time, a novel idea for middle-class women).
Arthur Barlow jug
Arthur Barlow jug
Arthur Barlow jug
Arthur Barlow worked alongside his sisters Hannah and Florence.
This exquisitely coloured jug, part of the Jordan collection, is an example of his work, but his career was sadly cut short at the age of 34.
The remaining building of Doulton's Lambeth Art Pottery is on Black Prince Road, Lambeth ...
... this housed the showroom - the tympanum (above the entrance) is a magnificent representation of Doulton's workers. Hannah Barlow is seated left, inscribing a pot. George Tinworth, their most famous male ceramic artist is represented in the centre, holding a pot, the whole sculptural frieze being executed by Tinworth himself.
The Jordan Collection
Jane has been collecting Doulton ceramics for over a decade ...
In her researches in West Norwood Cemetery, she has located the burials of over 20 of Doulton's women artists.
In September 2027 Jane will be curating an exhibition of the Doulton women artists' work and history at the Lambeth Archives, Brixton.