Aynsley

John Aynsley gave his name to the company when he founded it in 1775 in Staffordshire. The company’s name quickly became synonymous with fine English bone china tableware, giftware and commemorative items. His son introduced in the manufacturing process calcified bone ash to the clay, creating “bone china” that was lighter, thinner and stronger. Over the last 200 plus years Aynsley grew their company into a well-respected company commissioned by royalty and exported to over 70 countries. Queen Victoria granted Aynsley a warrant as supplier to the Royal family because she liked their bone china dinnerware so much. This explains that there is still a crown in Aynsley’s light green stamped hallmark.

With the decline of the “potteries”in Stoke-on-Trent, the historic centre for the production of English bone china, many closed. Aynsley was one of the last remaining “potteries” to carry on with production. However high costs and declining sales brought management to close this historic plant in 2014. The company is no longer active but one of its old plants, owned by Beleek Pottery, is still in production.

Wikipedia contains a reference list of materials for people interested in Aynsley’s rich history.

We have listed the Aynsley patterns numerically and/or alphabetically under the appropriate groupings below.