Nine coloured tile panels from the main emtrance hall to Doulton House, Doulton & Co. Ltd., London, 1940
Two pages from the lavish "House of Doulton's" splendid occasional brochure "ceramics in Industry" that first appeared in 1939. Issue 3 was wholly dedicated to the company's new headquarters building on Albert Embankment in London and that was designed by architect T P Bennett and was opened in 1939/40 as war broke out. The site at Lambeth had been the 'ancestoral home' of Royal Doulton since at least 1815 and this marvellous new edifice was adjacent to elements of Doulton's earlier buildings.
Their new building was arguably one of the best 'art deco' buildings in London and the front façade was clad in their own medium-matt glazed terracotta, in ivory, black and gold, and dominated by the vast frieze by artist Gilbert Bayes depicting the ages of pottery. The interior was equally lavish and these nine panels show the coats of arms of the cities and towns in which Doulton had works, offices - Lambeth, Erith, Poole, Burslem, Tamworth, Rowley Rgis, Stoke, St. Helens and Birmingham. Doulton, who made both pottery and stoneware, were indeed a vast enterprise. The booklet notes that these hand painted panels, by Doulton's artists, were suitable for 'widespread application on civic and municipal buildings' and indeed many council houses and schemes did have such panels - the London County Council and various boroughs making use of such panels.
The building is one of the truly great losses of a London building this century. Doulton sold up and moved out in 2002 and by 2008 the building was tragically demolished. The salvage of the façade frieze, now in the V&A, was rather a cause celebré in the consevation movement as it was sort of effectively stolen from the building by volunteers from the Ironbridge Gorge Museum. I've no knowledge as to what happened to these internal panels but I guess they went under the bulldozers and into landfill.
Nine coloured tile panels from the main emtrance hall to Doulton House, Doulton & Co. Ltd., London, 1940
Two pages from the lavish "House of Doulton's" splendid occasional brochure "ceramics in Industry" that first appeared in 1939. Issue 3 was wholly dedicated to the company's new headquarters building on Albert Embankment in London and that was designed by architect T P Bennett and was opened in 1939/40 as war broke out. The site at Lambeth had been the 'ancestoral home' of Royal Doulton since at least 1815 and this marvellous new edifice was adjacent to elements of Doulton's earlier buildings.
Their new building was arguably one of the best 'art deco' buildings in London and the front façade was clad in their own medium-matt glazed terracotta, in ivory, black and gold, and dominated by the vast frieze by artist Gilbert Bayes depicting the ages of pottery. The interior was equally lavish and these nine panels show the coats of arms of the cities and towns in which Doulton had works, offices - Lambeth, Erith, Poole, Burslem, Tamworth, Rowley Rgis, Stoke, St. Helens and Birmingham. Doulton, who made both pottery and stoneware, were indeed a vast enterprise. The booklet notes that these hand painted panels, by Doulton's artists, were suitable for 'widespread application on civic and municipal buildings' and indeed many council houses and schemes did have such panels - the London County Council and various boroughs making use of such panels.
The building is one of the truly great losses of a London building this century. Doulton sold up and moved out in 2002 and by 2008 the building was tragically demolished. The salvage of the façade frieze, now in the V&A, was rather a cause celebré in the consevation movement as it was sort of effectively stolen from the building by volunteers from the Ironbridge Gorge Museum. I've no knowledge as to what happened to these internal panels but I guess they went under the bulldozers and into landfill.