Hornsea Pottery

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Hornsea Pottery, a pottery factory in Hornsea in the East Riding of Yorkshire was founded by brothers Colin Rawson and Desmond Rawson with funding from a local business man, Philip Clappison 1949. 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 as Dorothy Marion Campbell and Alan 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 until April 2000 when it went into receivership.

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 large adventure playground in the style of a wooden fort, remote control boats and go-karts. For adults, there were several cafés, 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 outdoor factory outlet mall, selling clothing and other items at reduced prices. The factory outlet, Hornsea Freeport still exists today