Local History

The Mason Raven ceramic collection was lovingly created by brothers Ronald William and John Mason Raven.
They have collected many important pieces outlining the development of Mason ceramics in Staffordshire from the beginning of the nineteenth century.

A superb Mason 'campana' vase

The collection has been housed at Keele University since 1993.

In recent years their sister, Dame Kathleen Raven, has made generous bequests and the entire collection has recently been redisplayed!

200 years of Mason's pottery

The pottery in the collection was made over a 200 year span.

The Mason company was originally established in Delph Lane, Fenton in the late 1790s, and became famous for its ironstone ware; developed to be more resilient and less expensive than porcelain. The factory produced approximately 856 porcelain patterns.

On display

The Raven Mason Collection of Mason's pottery ware was shown to the Staffordshire public during the summer of 2009 on selected days. Usually the pottery can only be viewed by appointment.

Collection curator Harry Frost said: “We still want to hear from former employees from the Mason's Ironstone factory in Hanley, who might have some stories about the company, and memories of working for them”.

Full details on the website:  http://www.keele.ac.uk/marketing/RavenMason/index2.htm.