Piece of China with Partial Back Stamp

Q: I found a piece of broken china on the beach on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It has a partial back stamp and I am trying to see if I can find where it may have come from and possibly a date. There is an anchor and the words that are visible are Royal Pa Ironsto, T&R Boo. 

A: We have identified shards (broken pieces of china) for several local archaeological digs. The letters on this piece identify it as T & R Boote’s ironstone china. The company was founded by Thomas and Richard Boote in 1842 in Burslem, Staffordshire, England. It made ironstone, earthenware, Parian, tiles and other items. After 1888, production was predominantly white graniteware exported to the United States and pavement tiles. After 1906, tiles were the only things made. The company is now part of H & R Johnson Group. T & R Boote was granted a patent for its method of making “ornamental pottery” in 1857. The mark on your broken piece probably included the lion and unicorn, the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. We found the identical mark in an 1878 book on British ceramics. Your piece was made before 1891, when items imported into the United States had to be marked with the name of the country of origin.