There is a fine collection of porcelain and pottery at Rode, the earliest examples being items from two Chinese armorial services commissioned by the Bootle family in 1730.

The important Derby botanical service decorated by William Billingsley and the collection to teapots are among the highlights of the large collection of English porcelain from the leading factories of the second half of the eighteenth century including examples of Bow, Derby and Worcester. There is also a collection of six pots designed by Walter Crane for Maw & Co in 1890. As a young man Walter Crane often stayed at Rode and there are other examples of his work to be viewed.


A square dish from the dessert service commissioned by Mary Wilbraham Bootle from Derby in 1787and decorated by William Billingsley.

A Chelsea teapot decorated in rococo style - gold anchor mark circa 1760 - 1765.

One of a collection of six pots designed by Walter Crane for Maw & Co in 1890.

    
 

English Ceramics - Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Collecting at Rode

by Julie McKeown

This book, lavishly illustrated with items from the Rode Collection, explores the history of the collection from the middle of the eighteenth century to the present day.

 
    
 

In her foreword to the book Gaye Blake Roberts, Director of the Wedgwood Museum Trust writes:

This book explores the unique development of the ceramic collection which still exists at Rode Hall, for which the successive generations have acquired, enhanced and maintained the range of ceramics for both decoration and use. Patronage of the ceramic industry, in its many forms, is not only clearly demonstrated in the surviving collections within the house but well delineated in this excellent descriptive study of these collections. This book places the ceramics in period context, with interesting snippetts of family history, details of the building and enlargement of their houses, especially the property which eventually formed Rode Hall, the gardens and surrounding landscape, as well as contemporary details not only of life in Britain but the ceramic industry worldwide, bringing the collections alive to the reader...

Superbly researched this is more than a ceramic history, it is a refreshingly honest social history of the Wilbraham family and their collecting habits through nearly three and a half centuries. This fascinating account of one family's life within the elite of the eighteenth century in particular, provides a perfect background and explains admirably why certain ceramics were bought and how the social standing of a family could be so clearly reflected in their material possessions...

It is appropriate that amongst all the detailed information the earliest documented order for Rode Hall was from Wedgwood's manufactory in 1769 - an association which was maintained through several generations through to the present day. It is therefore a great privilege to write the foreword to this fascinating account and delightful narrative of the lives, tastes and collecting habits of the owners and chatelaines of Rode Hall.

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