Belleek Pottery facts for kids
Belleek Pottery Ltd is a famous company that makes beautiful porcelain items. It started way back in 1884 in a place called Belleek in County Fermanagh, Ireland. This area later became part of Northern Ireland. The factory is known for making a special type of porcelain called Parian ware. This pottery is super thin, has a slightly shiny surface, and is made with a unique mix of materials.
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How Belleek Pottery Began
The story of pottery in Belleek started around 1849. A man named John Caldwell Bloomfield inherited land from his father. He wanted to help the people living on his land, who were struggling after the Great Famine. John was also interested in minerals, so he had his land checked for natural resources.
They found lots of useful minerals! So, Bloomfield teamed up with Robert Williams Armstrong, an architect from London, and David McBirney, a merchant from Dublin. To help their new pottery business, Bloomfield even arranged for a railway line to be built to Belleek. This made it easy to bring in coal to heat their kilns (the ovens used to bake pottery).
Growing Famous
Building the pottery factory began in 1858. At first, they made everyday items for homes. But by 1863, they successfully started making small amounts of the special Parian ware that Belleek is still famous for today.
By 1865, the company was very well-known. They sold their beautiful pottery in many places, including Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, and the United States. Even important people like the Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria, and other nobility bought their products!
A talented artist and poet named Eugene Sheerin worked at Belleek Pottery in the late 1800s. You can even see a Belleek dish with a copy of his painting "Innocence" (from 1879) at the Royal Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
New Owners and Challenges
By 1884, the original owners had all passed away. A group of local investors bought the company and renamed it Belleek Pottery Works Company Ltd. In 1893, a very skilled craftsman named Frederick Slater moved from England to Belleek. By 1920, making high-quality porcelain became the main focus of the business.
The company faced tough times during the First World War and the Second World War. During these periods, they mostly made earthenware, which is a simpler type of pottery.
After the Second World War, Belleek Pottery stopped making earthenware. From 1952, they started changing their kilns from coal-fired to electric, which was a big step forward. In 1983, the Industrial Development Board helped the company with money and put Roger Troughton in charge. The next year, Troughton successfully bought the company himself. In 1988, a company called Powerscreen International bought Belleek Pottery and opened a visitor centre the following year.
Belleek Pottery Today
The company changed owners again in 1990. Today, a man named George G. Moore, who was born in Dundalk but lives in the US, owns the company. However, it is managed locally by four directors.
Since then, Belleek Pottery has grown a lot! They have made their factory bigger, bought other companies, hired more staff, and increased their sales. Some of the companies they now own include Galway Crystal, Aynsley China, and Donegal Parian China. Belleek Pottery employs over six hundred people and makes about £30 million each year.
According to their own website, Belleek Pottery makes more than 100,000 pieces of pottery every year!
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