Royal Doulton "Cottage" Bowl

The Royal Doulton company began in 1815 as a partnership in a factory at Vauxhall Walk, Lambeth which traded as Jones, Watts & Doulton until 1820, when the trade name was changed to Doulton & Watts. They specialised in making stoneware like bottles, jugs and jars, much of it intended for inns and pubs. In 1826 it moved to a pottery on Lambeth High Street, in 1854 it took the name Doulton & Co and by 1897 employed over 4,000 workers.

In 1846 Doulton & Co started manufacturing circular ceramic sewage pipes and the advent of 1846–1860 cholera pandemic in London, which led to the massive upgrade sewage management in London, was advantageous to the business.

By the 1860s the company became interested in more artistic wares and started experimenting with glazes and making refined stoneware to compete with porcelain. From 1871 Doulton offered work to designers and artists and pieces from this period were signed by the artists, usually with initials or a monogram incised on the base. Many are also dated. Until 1882, "every piece of the company's art stoneware was a unique item". In 1882, Doulton purchased the small factory of in Burslem, Staffordshire, which placed Doulton in the region known as The Potteries.