David Evans and Sons

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Royal Crown Derby began some time before 1850, when the Huguenot, Andrew Planche, established the first china works in Derby. His exquisite figures led to a fortuitous link with William Duesbury.

By 1770, Duesbury had acquired the famous Chelsea China Works and the Bow moulds which resulted in the gradual transfer of a number of extremely skilled craftsmen to Derby. It wasn't long before Duesbury could claim - with some justification - that his Derby factory was the 'second Dresden'.

King George III recognised the uniqueness of Derby porcelain in 1775 when he granted the factory the rare honour of being able to incorporate a crown into the backstamp. Much later, in 1890, Queen Victoria also gave Crown Derby her seal of approval not only by awarding the royal warrant, but also by granting the title "The Royal Crown Derby Porcelain Company".

After his father's death in 1786, William Duesbury II set about making the Derby China Works the finest in Europe.

When William Duesbury died in 1797 at the early age of 34, many of his remarkable team left the factory which led to a temporary decline in the fortunes of Crown Derby.

It was Robert Bloor who restored the Derby porcelain reputation when he took control of the factory in 1811 and began to build a team of very fine painters.

Confidence in the Crown Derby name was underwritten in 1877 by the opening of an impressive new factory at Osmaston Road, Derby.

Royal acclaim followed in 1890 when the company was appointed 'Manufacturers of porcelain to Her Majesty'.

In 1964 Royal Crown Derby was acquired by S.Pearson and Son, the Pearson family company, to become part of their Allied English Potteries group. Pearson subsequently Bought Royal Doulton. The company was then merged into the larger group.

1981 saw the first Royal Crown Derby paperweights, five birds and a rabbit, were launched at a reception at Chatsworth House. These models were to develop into one of the most important ranges of china figures in the world of collecting.

In 2000 Hugh Gibson, a former director of Royal Doulton and member of the Pearson family, leads a buy-out of Royal Crown Derby. Once more the firm becomes an independent and privately owned concern, during the year in which it also celebrates 250 years of manufacture of porcelain in Derby.

And in 2000 the paperweight range celebrates its 21st birthday, with a special stopper for the year, and a new collection of five birds and a rabbit.

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