Castle Hedingham Pottery was an art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

 pottery

Pottery

Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...

 studio founded by Edward Bingham at Castle Hedingham

Castle Hedingham

Castle Hedingham is a small village in northeast Essex, England, located four miles west of Halstead and is situated in the Colne Valley on the ancient road from Colchester, Essex, to Cambridge....

 in Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, England. It was in production from 1864 to 1901 and made in a style reminiscent of medieval and Tudor

Tudor period

The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...

 wares. Bingham produced some large items, with 'Essex' jugs up to three feet high being typical. Bingham also made many smaller yet colourful frequently mimicking the medieval revival style.

Bingham, born in 1829, was the son of a Lambeth potter who had set up in Gestingthorpe

Gestingthorpe

Gestingthorpe is a village and a civil parish in the Braintree District, in the English county of Essex. It is approximately halfway between the town of Halstead in Essex and Sudbury in Suffolk. The nearest railway station is in Sudbury, which offers a shuttle service to Marks Tey and at the...

, making mostly functional ware. The family moved to Castle Hedingham in 1837. Bingham assisted his father in his business, while experimenting with more artistic wares. He received commissions from some influential people, including Sir A.W. Franks

Augustus Wollaston Franks

Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks KCB was an English antiquary and museum administrator. Franks was described by Marjorie Caygill, historian of the British Museum, as "arguably the most important collector in the history of the British Museum, and one of the greatest collectors of his age".-Early...

, but the initiative was not commercially successful, and in 1859 he opened a school. After five or six years he returned to potting full-time, and in 1864 had five or six boys as assistants.

In 1894, he showed his work at the Art and Industries Exhibition at the Albert Hall

Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....

.

Bingham passed the business on to his son in 1899. It was sold two years later to Hexter, Humpherson & Co., of Newton Abbot

Newton Abbot

Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....

,
and operated under the name of the " Essex Art Pottery" until its closure in 1905.

The pottery is somewhat similar to Elton Ware pottery made by Sir Edmund Elton

Sir Edmund Elton, 8th Baronet

Sir Edmund Harry Elton, 8th Baronet was an English inventor and studio potter noted for his production of Elton Ware at the Clevedon Elton Sunflower Pottery....

 of Clevedon Court

Clevedon Court

Clevedon Court is a manor house on Court Hill in Clevedon, North Somerset, England, dating from the early fourteenth century. It is now owned by the National Trust. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.-History:...

 in Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

 at about the same time. However, Elton was more adventurous with his materials and experimented with slip

Slip (ceramics)

A slip is a suspension in water of clay and/or other materials used in the production of ceramic ware. Deflocculant, such as sodium silicate, can be added to the slip to disperse the raw material particles...

 as well as specialist glazes including a striking development of the crackle glaze

Ceramic glaze

Glaze is a layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color, decorate, strengthen or waterproof it.-Use:...

. Castle Hedingham pottery was less refined in its finish.