*** We are very pleased to present this wonderful matching pair of 1895-1910 English buff clay pitchers, finished in the classic Alpine Village + pathway scene, and featuring the deep Rockingham brown glaze. Our pitchers stand nominally 8" & 5" tall, and are in VG condition, with 1 chip to handle. xxxxxxxxxxxx. The Rockingham Pottery was a 19th century manufacturer of porcelain of international repute, supplying fine wares and ornamental pieces to royalty and the aristocracy in Britain and overseas, as well as manufacturing porcelain and earthenware items for ordinary use. The Rockingham factory was located in Swinton, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, and for the later part of its lifetime existed under the patronage of the Earls Fitzwilliam, indirect descendants of the Marquesas’ of Rockingham, who were the major landowners in the area, and whose stately home and extensive park was located several miles away in Wentworth. Records show that a pot works making utilitarian earthenware for the local market existed on the site in 1745, and passed through the hands of several owners, including a partnership with the Leeds Pottery, until ownership eventually passed into the hands of the local Brameld family in 1806. With the advent of vitreous glazed English stoneware prior to 1820, the Rockingham pottery attempted to produce new porcelain with only limited success, and finally closed in 1842. The famous semi-vitreous dark brown earthenware glaze discovered by the Rockingham Pottery was imitated by many potteries and made its way across the Atlantic to be used on many decorative and utilitarian pieces from a variety of U.S. potteries, the most famous of which was at Bennington, Vermont. Pottery-making has been part of the Vermont economy since the Revolutionary War when in 1785 a former soldier, Capt. John Norton, began producing "Redware" glazed pottery. Bennington was a convenient location for producing Redware pottery because of the close proximity to local clay deposits as well as deposits along the Hudson River. Bennington also had an abundant supply of water power from local streams, which was necessary to power the machinery used at the time. Around 1804 stoneware pottery was introduced to the local economy, offering the advantage of being sturdier than previous Redware pottery, and therefore more suitable for everyday use. The Rockingham factory was located in Swinton, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, and for the later part of its lifetime existed under the patronage of the Earls Fitzwilliam, indirect descendants of the Marquesses of Rockingham, who were the major landowners in the area, and whose stately home and extensive park was located several miles away in Wentworth. Operating from 1745 to 1842, when the pottery went bankrupt, the dark brown glaze was their most famous finish. The name "Rockingham" is often used in the U.S. to describe the rather substantial brown-glazed earthenware output of several factories that Americans may be more familiar with in this context. Norton Pottery and, the U.S. Pottery Company provided the Rockingham glaze at least until the Civil War period, as well as Jabez Vodrey and his family, who are notable for having made Rockingham-style ware in East Liverpool, Ohio in the mid-19th century, at the same time Edwin Bennett was also producing it in Baltimore. Many examples of this type of Rockingham pottery may be found in the East Liverpool Museum of Ceramics. *** Weight: 3.5# - Measurements 7.75 x 7 x 5.5

Very good condition, minor nicks & large pitcher has handle chip, crazing