James Stiff

Who was James Stiff?

James Stiff was a noted English potter. He was born in 1808, the son of Robert Stiff, a workhouse master and farmer in Rougham, Suffolk. In 1831 he married Sarah Faulkner Philpott, and Lucy Potter in 1878.

Stiff worked his way up from a mould maker in 1830 at Doulton and Watts' Lambeth Pottery in London to owning his own pottery works in Lambeth in 1843. He brought his sons William and Ebenezer into the family business, taking on the name James Stiff and Sons. They were part of a vibrant collection of potters in Lambeth at the time, including Doulton and Watts Pottery in Lambeth High Street and Stephen Green's Imperial Pottery. This group of Lambeth potteries were famous for their varied types of stoneware pottery; Stiff & Sons also produced effervescent, colourful pottery.