Carlton Ware Ltd

Carlton Ware Ltd From 1967-87 as part of the Arthur Wood Group From Dec 1987 as part of County Potteries	Stoke	Jan 1958	1989
Carlton & Kent	Foley	Feb 1989	April 1989
Carlton Ware Grosvenor Ceramic Hardware Ltd.	Stone	1990	1992
Carlton Ware Direct Ltd Carlton World Wide Ltd (incorporated April 2008)	Tunstall	1997	2014

Earthenware and China manufacturer originally at the Carlton Works, Stoke, Stoke-on-Trent.

Remaining under the control of the Wiltshaw family 1958-67

In January 1958 Wiltshaw & Robinson Ltd changed their name to Carlton Ware Ltd.
(Frederick) Cuthbert Wiltshaw had been the head of the business since 1918 when his father, James Frederick Wiltshaw, had died.
A 1960 directory listed Cuthbert as Governing Director and W. G. Purser as Managing Director (Pottery Gazette Reference Books) - both had occupied these positions from around 1958 and remained so until 1966.
Cuthbert Wiltshaw continue as owner and Governing Director until his death in 1966. In January 1967 a resolution was passed that the company be voluntarily wound up - all the creditors were paid in full.

Part of the Arthur Wood Group 1967-87

In 1967 the business was sold to Arthur Wood & Son (Longport) Ltd and it remained as Carlton Ware Ltd until December 1987.

1970s – As hand-decorated luxury wares become harder to sustain, Carlton Ware pivots toward modern shapes, advertising/promotional lines and collaborations such as Walking Ware (from 1974, with Roger Michell & Lustre Pottery)

The 'unfortunate years' Dec 1987-1992

Carlton Ware Ltd remained in the Arthur Wood Group until December 1987 when it was sold to County Potteries PLC who, in the same year purchased the James Kent pottery.
Between 1987 and 1989 some Carlton Ware branded produces was apparently produced at the Foley works of James Kent. Handbook of British Pottery Manufacturers, Michael Perry.
In February 1989 County Potteries PLC was renamed Carlton & Kent. However in April of that year County Potteries was placed under administration. In May the Carlton Ware name, moulds and rights to use the Carlton Ware shapes and decorations was purchased from the administrator by John McCluskey the principal of Grosvenor Ceramic Hardware Ltd.
Between 1990 and 1992 some ornamental ware was manufactured under the Carlton Ware brand name. Where the manufacturing took place is unclear. Production ceased in 1992.

Carlton Ware under the Salmon family 1997-2014

In 1997 the trade name, master moulds and pattern books were acquired by Francis Joseph Salmon (of F. J. Publications in Stoke-on-Trent).
Francis and Alison Salmon led a collector-focused revival of Carlton ware - starting at the Carlton Ware Design Centre, Roslyn Works, Longton and then moving to Tunstall.
They had no manufacturing capability and all the ware was produce a using outside potteries.

the Carlton name was "used on a wide range of exclusive giftware and collectors' pieces including novelty teapots, figurines, Mabel Lucie Attell wares, animal models, vases, bowls, thimbles and similar ornamental wares. Ceramic artist Marie Graves has produced some striking art deco-styles wares inspired by both Carlton Ware vases of the period and Clarice Cliff designs." Handbook of British Pottery Manufacturers, Michael Perry.

In April 2008 Carton Ware Direct Ltd was incorporated. The company name was changed in October 2013 to Carlton Worldwide Ltd. Both under the control of Francis and Alison Salmon with the stated aim of the "provision of Carltonware branded products".
Business declined and turner over was recorded as - April 2009 £47k; April 2011 £37k; April 2014 £3.5k.
The returns for April 2015 listed the business as a 'dormant company" and it remained dormant until June 2025 when the company was dissolved and struck off the companies register.

Wiltshaw & Robinson Ltd

1956 advert for Carlton Ware made by
Wiltshaw & Robinson Ltd

Carlton Ware Ltd

1960 advert for Carlton Ware made by
Carlton Ware Ltd

In January 1958 Wiltshaw & Robinson Ltd changed their name to Carlton Ware Ltd.

These two adverts from the 1956 and 1960 editions of the Pottery Gazette Reference Book have the same content with the exception of the company name - this shows the continuity of the business.

The only thing that changed was the name.

Counterfeits

Since the close of the Stoke factory in 1989 a large number of counterfeits and replicas have appeared carrying a bogus backstamp some of which are indistinguishable from the genuine one.

The original date of manufacture of virtually all the fakes is post 1950, the only exception with an early Crown Mark is the Hangman's Tankard with the Devil handle. This tankard was never made with any other mark than the Script Mark.

The Guinness advertising range including toucans and the small animal figures are the prime target and at one time were seen more often than the originals. Other counterfeits include a small golfing figure, a Babycham chamois and a small puritan mug.

Invariably the quality of decoration is the giveaway but of course, ideally, you would have had to handle the genuine item to be able to draw comparisons. There has been the odd occurrence of various shapes appearing with a Carlton Ware backstamp which were never produced by Carlton Ware such as two female figures and a mug in the shape of a liquorice allsort.

photo courtesy: Shannon Depriest

CARLTONS
FANTASIA
WARE
BURSLAM

Carlton Ware did make a range or ware called FANTASIA which was a luster ware decorated with flowers and gold - it looked nothing like this plaque.

There is a large amount of ware, plates, bowls, biscuit barrels featuring fairies.

Although the manufacturer has not copied or faked a genuine Carlton Ware piece they have used the Carlton name and the pattern name 'Fantasia' to give an association with Carlton.

Carton Ware factory was in Stoke, not in Burslem - note incorrect spelling as Burslam (with an A)