Alfred Meakin, and J & G Meakin, (England), ceramics

Founded in 1851 and located in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, J. & G. Meakin was an English pottery manufacturing company that gained a reputation in the 19th century for producing large quantities of affordable ironstone china for both the domestic English market and export to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.

In the 1970s, the company introduced several new designs, including Liberty, Sterling, Trend, Classic, and Heirloom, which were marked with backstamp indications such as "permanent colors," "everlasting color," or "dishwasher proof." Many of these designs were influenced by earlier patterns, and J & G Meakin's close familial and corporate ties to Johnson Brothers and Alfred Meakin Ltd resulted in similarities between many of their respective patterns.

J. & G. Meakin acquired Midwinter Pottery in 1968 and was then taken over by the Wedgwood Group in 1970. Production under the Meakin name ceased in 2000, and more... Eagle Pottery, where the company had operated for many years, was used instead for the production of Johnson Bros pottery until its closure in 2004. Alfred Meakin Ltd, established in 1875, operated from the Royal Albert, Victoria, and Highgate Potteries in Tunstall, and was run by Alfred James Meakin, who succeeded his father, Alfred Meakin, after his death in 1904.

The Johnson family bought Alfred Meakin Ltd from Alfred John's uncle Robert Johnson in 1908, and the company remained under their ownership until 1976, when it became Myott-Meakin before being absorbed into the Churchill Group. Some Meakin production was relocated to the Alexander Works, constructed by Myott in 1902, around 1980.

Melton Modes of Nottingham purchased J. & G. Meakin in 1989, and the company underwent a management buyout in early 1991 before becoming part of the Churchill Group later that year. less...