T.G. Green & Co was founded by Thomas Goodwin Green of Boston, Lincolnshire, in around 1864. His money came from business in Australia but Mr Green returned to England to marry Mary Tenniel. She was the sister of illustrator Sir John Tenniel whose work could be seen in Punch magazine and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. T.G. Green bought an already established pottery in Church Gresley, Derbyshire.
T.G. Green has been making the classic blue and white striped crockery since 1926. The iconic blue and white stripes are said to reflect the coastline of Cornwall in the South West corner of England: the blue of the sky and the white foam of the waves. The exact date that Cornishware was created isn’t known, but it is thought to have been introduced by Frederick Parke, Green’s General Manager, in 1919. The earliest mention of Cornishware by name is in a T.G. Green Trade Catalogue dated 1923. By the 1930s the range was well established. The pottery was widely sold throughout the UK through major department stores as well as Harrods.
Unique lathe-turning technique
The iconic kitchenware range has been used and appreciated in kitchens the world over since its introduction and it is now a true design classic. It is still made the same way as ever and the style is still the same. It is made using a unique lathe-turning technique that scrapes blue-coloured slip away from the white clay beneath. After the Church Gresley factory closed in 2007, designer Perry Haydn Taylor and ‘lifelong admirers’ Charles Rickards and Paul Burston restored the brand. It’s practical, has classic lines, it looks at home by a cottage range and equally so in a techy apartment. It has an ageless appeal for anyone who loves cooking, baking and eating. One might have seen a few pieces on British television shows, including The Great British Bake Off!
I am rather taken by the iconic Cornishware large mixing bowl. It is beautiful, sturdy, has a good capacity and is a must-have for any budding baker. It’s a good weight and ideal for hand-mixing cake batter. It looks good enough to be used as a kitchen fruit dish. The acquisition of one piece of this brand will likely herald the start of a collection. It’s comforting to consider that I am using pottery which my grandmother would recognise and covet. Cornishware endures for very good reason.
Product review by Chrissie Walker © 2018