A trip to Worcester a beautiful city set in the heart of England. The city dominated by its 12th century Cathedral and bisected by the river Severn. Besides its two main features the City is known for its cricket, the races, sauce, being the birthplace of Sir Edward Elgar and the site for the final battle of the English Civil War. As if the above were not enough though Worcester is more widely known for being the home of the Royal Worcester Porcelain Factory and now all that is left of over 250 years of history The Worcester Porcelain Museum.
Today is the first day of a two day Porcelain and Glass Fair and a crowd of enthusiasts and collectors line up waiting for the doors to open. Inside are specialist dealers from around the U.K with pieces spanning the entire history of the Worcester Porcelain story. Hand crafted pieces from the earliest Oriental influences of the 2nd half of the 18th century to lavish hand enamelled and gilded pieces of the 19th century fit for King or Queen and later 20th century decorative pieces equally as beautiful and all highly collectable.
Also here upstairs is Henry Sandon MBE the grand master of all things Royal Worcester and BBC Antiques Roadshow favourite. A polite gathering is waiting patiently in regimented rows to present their treasured pieces for an appraisal and valuation. It is all very English! and just to prove it a nice cuppa is delivered to the man himself to help lubricate his evaluations.
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| Henry Sandon MBE |
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| Kitty Blake vase valued by H Sandon |
Opposite Henry displaying is infinite skills is ex Royal Worcester Painter James Skerrett giving a demonstration of the delicate skill that turned plain porcelain into works of art and downstairs the Master Gilder Ken Russell showing the painstaking art of enamelling in eye wateringly intricate designs.
On top of all that is happening of course you have the whole of the permanent Worcester Porcelain Museum Collection to peruse at your leisure. Display case after display case of some of the finest porcelain ever made in the U.K.
It is a great day out and highly recommended.
I will leave you with this sad thought though - Royal Worcester is now just like a large proportion of the regions previously thriving industry reduced to a museum with demonstrations and exhibitions of 'ones we prepared earlier!'
When will will learn?
Visit
Worcester Porcelain Museum
Porcelain and Glass Fair
Recommended a bite to eat at:
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| Royal Worcester Porcelain From 1862 to the Present Day by H Sandon |
had somewhere to look things up!!?"
