Maling Pottery

Was founded by a Protestant Huguenot family fleeing persecution in France in 1762 in North Hylton near Sunderland. The family prospered in a range of business interests including coal, shipping and timber.

Not much is known about the early days of the pottery before it moved to Newcastle upon Tyne in 1817. There is nothing remarkable about their pottery at this time as they made simple domestic items for local working people.

The business went in a new and profitable direction in the 1850s. They automated the making of pottery containers using machines and the speeded up production process led to massive orders from manufacturers needing containers for their wares. Maling ended up making containers for goods as diverse as meat and fish pastes, ointments, marmalade and printing ink. A Victorian visitor to the Maling pottery records that he saw at least one million jars in storage, ready to be transported to a marmalade manufacturer. Given the size of the British Empire at the time, the jars are still being dug up all over the world, usually originating from Keillers of Dundee.

In the 1890s they decided to go up market and started importing porcelain from other factories. They employed their first in-house designer and decorating the blanks, sold the results under their own brand. Their quality became such that they were soon being sold by prestigious stores such as Harrods of London.

In 1908 Maling introduced a new name for their decorative wares – Cetem and they employed designers who took them through the changing styles, from Victorian through Edwardian and into Art Deco. By the 1920s they were producing over two hundred new designs a year.

By the time of the Second World War the family members were all deceased and the business was being run by trustees. The war made things difficult as many of their skilled workers were called up for active service. They survived by producing items for the military but after the war, the new owners the Hoult family were not able to turn the tide and the pottery closed in 1963.

In its time the pottery had produced over 16,500 patterns and items that ranged from simple pudding basins to highly enamelled, lustred and gilded pieces that graced the most upmarket homes.

The Hoult family still own the site today and welcome collectors.