Set of 4 Extremely Rare Vintage (1950s) Highly Collectible Sandygate Pottery (Devon - UK) “Polka Dot” Egg Cups & Saucers (4”/10cm, 657g).
Marvellous set. Around 70 years old but would not look out of place in a modern contemporary environment. Please browse all 24 sets of photographs attached for size, weight and condition as they are self explanatory.
Sandygate Pottery, a Devon-based pottery that operated from 1951 to the 1990s, produced a variety of wares, including nursery ware, contemporary pottery, and lamp bases, and is remembered for commemorative mugs and a limited edition loving cup for the 1981 Royal Wedding.
Terence Murphy started the Sandygate Pottery at a disused corn mill at Kingsteignton in 1950. Initially it was with just a staff of two. Using Devon red clay Terence produce polka dot wares with some interesting colour combinations. They also produced attractive nursery ware in pastel colours with a white Duck or Teddy Bear in relief. Later a large and varied range of contemporary pottery was produced using white slip casting together with a variety of decorating techniques.
The firm made special mugs for Ovaltine Company including a special one for the Queens Jubilee in 1977. These were marked “The Ovaltine Pottery Sandygate Devon”. As well as the different colours used for polka dots, there was particular public interest in the range of small animals made in the late 1950′s. Also of special interest to collectors is the limited edition of 250 Royal Wedding Loving Cups made to commemorate the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencerin 1981.
For many years the pottery made lamp bases finished in plain colours sold through major department stores but these were unmarked so are hard to identify. Despite updated modem machinery the pottery found it hard to continue trading and sadly they closed sometime after relocating to Newton Abbot during the 1990′s.
Further information:
Kingsteignton has long been recognised as the centre of Devon's ball clay industry as evidenced by the massive quarries found on the west side of the parish. What we now refer to as ball clay was known as pipe clay in the seventeenth century due to its use in making pipes for the new fashion of smoking. Its export was banned during the reign of Charles II to protect the home grown pipe making industry and this ban continued until 1853.
In the eighteenth century it's use began to expand into the making of ceramics as potters discovered its "plastic" and white firing properties. A ban, albeit a temporary one, was again imposed on exports in 1946, to ensure adequate supplies for the home market and protect the pottery industry of Stoke on Trent.
The export of added value products such as finished ceramics was considered to be vital for the re-construction of the post war economy.
In Kingsteignton, Devon, a small pottery was set up in 1950 in a redundant corn mill at Sandygate by a Mr Terence Murphy with three staff including himself. The company had apparently been registered in 1938 but the outbreak of war shelved its start up.
The business soon made its mark in the ceramic world producing wares that were sold all over the country and abroad. When it started the first wares were made from south Devon red clay but with ball clay sources so close to hand, Mr Murphy soon changed to using white firing ball clay.
Many of the wares produced were souvenirs for the tourist industry, but as the firm grew and its customer base expanded, its wares included distinctive mugs and plates for customers such as Ovaltine and Cow and Gate.
By 1958 some 92 different items were being produced for sale which included 29 different types of tableware. That year also saw the introduction of the distinct St Michael the Archangel trade mark.
Disaster struck in September 1960 when flooding of the Sandygate stream on two consecutive days resulted in 2ft of water covering the floor of the works.
The new office block was completely flooded twice, as was the making shop. Fortunately, past experience had taught Mr Murphy to have no moulds or clay or finished ware on or near the flood level. Three electric motors were submerged
Every effort was made to keep the water out by putting boards across the entrance doorways, and sealing with clay, but the force of the water was so great that it forced its way through, and eventually began to rise through the joins in the concrete floor. The workforce had to be sent home, and several employees abandoned their cars in the company's car park!
On 5th December 1970 disaster struck again when a fire broke out in the old mill section of the pottery. As flames spread up into the beams the first floor collapsed, destroying master moulds, curing pottery, storage shelving and work benches. At the time Sandygate employed 23 workers, who after the fire was extinguished, helped in the salvaging operation.
Some years later Sandygate was taken over by Cresswell Lighting Ltd who were part of Marchant Holdings (later the Emess Group). Events such as the Silver Jubilee of 1977 brought in orders for commemorative mugs and a special limited edition loving cup was produced for the 1981 Royal Wedding.
This new ownership saw production in the late 1970s move towards lamp bases which were made for stores such as Habitat. Additional premises were acquired at the Decoy Industrial Estate but the expansion was to be short lived.
Sadly, the story of Sandygate mirrored the story of the British pottery industry as a whole as it was faced with severe undercutting from foreign competition which now had easy access to the fine quality Devon ball clays. Nowhere exemplifies this more than Stoke on Trent where, in the early 1970s, there were well over two hundred potteries , whilst today there are less than thirty.
Sadly Sandygate Pottery ceased trading in December 1988. If's wares however are still collected by many pottery enthusiasts worldwide.
