Holmes & Son






 

Location and period of operation:

Holmes & Son

Longton

1899

1904

 

Earthenware manufacturer at the Clayton Pottery, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, England.

  • A short lived manufacturer of ornamental and art ware. Ware was generally hand painted floral designs often complemented by raised gilt tracery. 

  • Known examples of their ware all carry the name 'ORIENTAL' which appears to have been used as a trade name.

  • Godden gives the operating dates as 1898-1903. 

 

 

 

  
small hand painted flower vases

 

 

 

 

  
pair of hand painted vases with raised gilt decoration  

 

 

 

 

Typical examples of decorative ware produced by Holmes & Son.  

Ware was generally hand painted floral designs often complemented by raised gilt tracery. 

 

 

 

Marks & initials used on ware for identification:

All known examples are marked with the initials H & S and underneath the letter 'L' for the town of Longton. 

 

H & S
Longton

 

H & S
L

(the 'L' stands for the pottery town of Longton)  

 

 

  
H & S
L
ORIENTAL

all of their ware appears to have been marked 'ORIENTAL' 

 

 


HOLMES & SON
LONGTON

Godden's Encyclopaedia of Marks also gives this example of
a Holmes & Son mark.

 

 


1878 map showing the Clayton Street Works, Longton

courtesy: Old-Maps.co.uk

 

Questions, comments, contributions? email: Steve Birks

 

 

Page created: 24 June 2021

Last updated: 24 August 2026 - Introduction and examples of ware and marks expanded.