James Kent (Ltd) James Kent (1989) Ltd

Location and period of operation:

Earthenware and porcelain manufacturer at the Old Foley Pottery, Stoke-on-Trent. 

NOTE: The small district of Foley is very close to the municipal boundary between Fenton and Longton and the marks of James Kent use the town names of Fenton and Longton at various periods. 

• "This firm of general domestic potters, Old Foley, Longton, was founded by James Aloysius Kent (born 1864 died 1953) with five workmen from the firm of Barker & Kent (including Arnold Bennett's brother Septimus Bennett, modeller) in 1897." from Mankowitz & Haggar

• James was joined at the business by his four sons.

• James Kent became a Limited company in 1913. 

• When James died in 1953 he was succeeded as Chairman by his second son, Philip Francis Kent. 

• The company continued as a family business until 1981 when it was purchased by Bayer (UK) Ltd. [Bayer is a German multinational chemical and pharmaceutical company].

• In 1985/6 the business was taken over by the pottery and engineer Morris Rushton.

• The association with Morris Rushton was shortlived and 1987 the business became part of County Potteries PLC. 

• In 1989 County Potteries was renamed Carlton & Kent (from the names of Carlton Ware and James Kent which the company owned). During the same year Carlton & Kent went into receivership and the James Kent part was purchased by M. R. Hadida Ltd., owners of Hadida Fine Bone China Ltd.

• The company was renamed James Kent (1989) Ltd.

• c.1995 Wedgwood sold the buildings of Foley China Works to James Kent who were operating at the adjacent Old Foley Pottery.

• The Old Foley Pottery was demolished c.2006 and the company operated from the Foley China Works. 

• By c.2008 the company closed and by 2010 the Foley China Works had been demolished. 

 

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Dealer plaque for James Kent Ltd 

 

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James Kent vase
Flaxman's Athena Period 1770-1780
 c.1905 

 

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Royal Foley Ware - urn and flower vase

Royal Foley Ware J Kent Semi Porcelain England

c.1897 - 1920's 

 

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James Kent vase in the Cydonia pattern 
c.1940's 

 

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James Kent dinner set in the Sandringham pattern 
c.1950's 

 

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James Kent cup and saucer in the Rosalynde pattern 

 

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Marks used on ware for identification:

NOTE: The small district of Foley is very close to the municipal boundary between the towns of  
Fenton and Longton and the marks of James Kent use the town names of Fenton and Longton at various periods. 

JAMES KENT

ROYAL SEMI CHINA

JAMES KENT LTD
[note: "Ltd" sometimes added to the name from 1913]

OLD FOLEY 

ROYAL FOLEY WARE

Royal Semi China
James Kent 
England

mark used 1897 to 1915

click here for information on the use 
of the Royal Arms

Shield mark with crown above and initials J K L 
The initials J K L stand for James Kent Longton

c.1901+ 

"Chrysanthemum" is the pattern name
The registration numbers date from 1899

Ye Olde Foley Pottery
J K L
The initials J K L stand for James Kent Longton
(Longton is the town name where the works were located)

 c.1905

FOLEY ROYAL
J K L
ENGLAND

The initials J K L stand for James Kent Longton

 c.1908-13

the registration number 529477 dates from 1908 
"LTD" was added to the name c.1913

J. KENT
Semi Porcelain
ENGLAND

c.1910

J. KENT
FENTON
ENGLAND
YE OLDE FOLEY WARE 

c.1910

this mark also appears with 'OLD FOLEY' instead of 'OLDE'
and sometimes with the town name 'LONGTON' in place of 'FENTON' 

"LTD" was added to the name c.1913

J Kent    Ye Olde 
Foley   Ware
Fenton   England  

James Kent Ltd
Fenton
Made in Gt. Britain
"Cydonia" 

Cydonia is the pattern name

James Kent Ltd
Fenton
Made in Great Britain
"Du Barry"

Du Barry is the pattern name

marks bearing 'Made in Great Britain'
appear to have been introduced in 1936
and were still in use in the mid to late 1940's 

James Kent Ltd
Fenton
Made in England

c.1945+

James Kent Ltd
LONGTON
Made in ENGLAND
"Pompadour"
Reg No 846345

the registration number shows that this pattern
was first registered in 1946

   
James Kent
Old Foley

c. 1950+

Some marks include the 'LTD' as in James Kent Ltd
Some marks have the place name 'LONGTON' instead
of the pottery factory name 'OLD FOLEY'

NOTE: the crown from this period is filled in
whereas those from the 1990's are open.

ESTB 1686
Old Foley
James Kent Ltd
Staffordshire
England

c.1955+

Marks bearing the County name "Staffordshire" were introduced in the mid 1950'S

NOTE: it is not known what the 'Established 1686' refers to, the business of 
James Kent was started in 1897 (seee the backstamp further down the page). 
There may have been a previous, unrelated pottery works on the same site.    

Old Foley
James Kent Ltd
Staffordshire
England

"Du Barry"
Made in England

c.1955+

Du Barry is the pattern name

The globe mark with the initials
J K in the centre were first introduced c.1910 

c.1955+

c.1955+

c.1970's

Fine Earthenware
JAMES KENT
Old Foley
Est 1897
Staffordshire
England

1989+ 

Backstamps with this kind of elaborate monogram date from 1999 onward, 
when the factory began to identify their decorators with special marks

NOTE: the crown from this period is open
whereas those from the 1950's are filled in.

100 Year Anniversary 
JAMES KENT
Staffordshire
Made in England

c.1997

OLD FOLEY
James Kent
Made in England

c.1999

The Old Foley Pottery of Mr. Myatt and later James Kent Ltd
- demolished in 2006 -

- click photo for more information on the Foley Potteries -

photo: 1976
the Gladstone Pottery Museum Photographic Collection

Question, comments, contributions? email: Steve Birks