Pitcher, dimensions unknown. Black and blue transfer. Printed maker's mark for Doulton & Co. This pattern consists of a blue floral sheet pattern around the base and rim of the pitcher. The base sheet has a top border consisting of a meander. The middle of the pitcher features alternating flowers printed in black.
This pattern is possibly named for the town of Walmer, in the district of Dover, Kent, England. Largely residential, its coastline and castle have traditionally attracted many visitors. Walmer Castle is an artillery fort originally constructed by Henry VIII in Walmer between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device Programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and defended the strategically important Downs Anchorage off the English coast.
Doulton & Co began as a partnership between John Doulton, Martha Jones, and John Watts at a factory in Lambeth, London in 1815. There, the business specialized in making stoneware articles, such as decorative bottles and salt glaze sewer pipes. Yet stoneware would be the making of this enterprise. The company took on the Doulton name in 1853 when John and his son Henry established themselves as makers of fine English stoneware. In 1877/1878 Doulton purchased a small factory from Pinder, Bourne & Co at Nile Street in Burslem, Staffordshire, bringing Doulton right to the heart of The Potteries. Doulton became increasingly popular, thanks in large part to the artistic direction of John Slater, who worked across a wide variety of figurines, vases, character jugs, and decorative pieces. The works continued to be called Pinder, Bourne & Co until early 1882, when it became Doulton & Co Ltd. The sheer popularity of Doulton products also came to the attention of the Royal Family and in 1901 the Burslem factory was granted the Royal Warrant by the new King Edward VII. It was this that enabled the business to adopt a new backstamp and name: Royal Doulton.
