Royal Winton Tea Set

Q: My mother gave me a 41-piece tea set as a gift. It’s a hand-painted set from England she bought at an antiques store in Canada. I can’t find any information on the maker. There are two different marks on the dishes, “Royal Winton Grimwades” and “Empire England.” The name “M. Chalmers” and “9-5-53” are written on each piece. Can you give me any information on the maker and value of the set?

A: Grimwades pottery started in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, in 1885. The company bought Winton Pottery and Stoke Pottery in 1900. Grimwades bought several other potteries, and the pottery names were sometimes used in Grimwades marks. Queen Mary bought a Winton tea set when she and King George V visited the pottery in 1913. The company began to use the name “Royal Winton” soon afterwards. It became the company’s trade name in 1929. Grimwades and the Royal Winton brand are now part of Duchess China 1888 of Stoke-on-Trent. Empire Porcelain Company was another pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, in business from 1895 to 1967. It had two factories, one of which may have originally belonged to Grimwades. Your Grimwades mark was used from about 1934 to 1950. The Empire mark on your dishes includes the date, indicating they were made in January 1953. The name “M. Chalmers” and date written on the dishes is a mystery. Perhaps they were a special order. Sets of dinnerware are hard to sell. If you want to sell them, try a local consignment shop.