Local Souvenir China

As increasing numbers of Victorians began to travel about Britain on the new railways, there arose a demand for souvenirs of places visited, no matter how obscure! One result of this was the production from the 1840s onwards, of large quantities of souvenir China bearing local views, made, not only for the more tourist friendly watering places or spa towns and Cathedral cities, but indeed for most places of any size, up and down the country. Presumably these items were proudly displayed to show friends and relatives how well travelled you were .

The earliest pieces were made in Staffordshire, but by the end of the century, a good deal was being imported from the continent, particularly Germany, and then once imported, the views of local places were printed on the plain white ware within the UK. Most of these pieces are hard to date, as they frequently bear no makers name or place of manufacture and the same transfers were obviously used and reused over a long period of time. However there was a marked decline in quality noticeable by the end of the century, the pieces being made around 1900 seem crude compared with those 50 years earlier.

So, let’s explore what kind of souvenir china was on sale to Victorian visitors to Loughborough. Unfortunately most of it has disappeared or been destroyed so this information is incomplete, but if you have a piece then please let me know so that we can increase the common knowledge regarding this quirky area of history.

Charnwood Forest was once a popular destination as Wordsworth’s poem about Grace Dieu Priory may attest, and Loughborough was once a resort for visitors (Samuel Taylor Coleridge once stayed here) illustrated by a porcelain mug with a black and white view of the parish church, possibly showing it before its restoration. Later visitors to the town could buy a Green and Gold Cup and saucer, with the words of ‘Present from Loughborough’, or a mug with floral decoration and the same wording. There were similar pieces printed for the ruins at Bradgate Park, found on a cup dated about 1870, among many other local places.

About 1885, the firm of W H Goss of Stoke on Trent began to produce pieces of miniature porcelain bearing civic coats of arms. These continued to be made by Goss and his competitors, right down to the 1920s. Each piece was produced with a coat of arms of a number of towns to give it as wide a sale as possible. Several different pieces were made with the arms of Loughborough for example. These can be found in a variety of shapes. But those made by Goss, usually have models of historical objects

A quick search of eBay reveals some examples of the crested wares produced by Goss and his competitors.

Prices vary from a few pounds, up to about 40 pounds at the current time. It seems that pieces that are actually more specific to the town, such as the China figure of the Carillon are going to be more expensive than a generic piece, which has just had the crest added to it. As a case in point, please look at the bathing hut, which has the Loughborough crest on it. It should be noted that as Loughborough is part of Leicestershire which is a landlocked County, it is highly questionable that there ever was any need for any bathing huts! However, these pieces still carry a lot of charm and curiosity value, and could be worth collecting or keeping an eye out for as they come up.