John Doulton

Who was John Doulton?

John Doulton was an English businessman and manufacturer of pottery, a founder of the firm that later became known as Royal Doulton. John Doulton married Jane Duneau, a widow from Bridgnorth in Shropshire, who died on 9 April 1841. They had eight children, including Sir Henry, Bob MP, Josiah and Alfred.

In 1815, soon after John Doulton had completed his apprenticeship as a potter, he invested his life savings of £100 in the Vauxhall Walk pottery of Martha Jones, Lambeth. Her foreman, John Watts, was also taken into partnership and the firm became known as Jones, Watts and Doulton. It specialized in industrial ware, brown stoneware, drain pipes as well as stoneware bottles for chemicals, beer, and other industrial liquids among others. Martha Jones withdrew from the partnership in 1820 and the company moved to new premises in Lambeth High Street in 1826. In 1835 John's 15 year old son Henry Doulton was taken on as an apprentice. By 1846, Henry had set up an independent Lambeth Pottery which had become the leader in industrial products, particularly sanitation products.