Torquay

Torquay is the name given to ceramics by several potteries working near Torquay, England, from 1870 until 1962. Until about 1900, the potteries used local red clay to make classical-style art pottery vases and figurines. Then they turned to making souvenir wares. Items were dipped in colored slip and decorated with painted slip and sgraffito designs. They often had mottoes or proverbs, and scenes of cottages, ships, birds, or flowers. The Scandy design was a symmetrical arrangement of brushstrokes and spots done in colored slips. Potteries included Watcombe Pottery (1870-1962); Torquay Terra-Cotta Company (1875-1905); Aller Vale (1881-1924); Torquay Pottery (1908-1940); and Longpark (1883-1957). Aller Vale produced mottowares that became a common product for the Torquay potteries. For more information, explore our identification guides for British pottery and porcelain, art potteries, and designers.