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Portmeirion

© Barbara Bell

There is a lovely little coastal town in Wales, called Portmeirion. Clough Williams-Ellis built Portmeirion from 1925 to 1975 on his own private peninsula on the coast of Snowdonia in Wales because he wanted to show that "the development of a naturally beautiful site need not lead to its defilement". Portmeirion is owned by a Registered Charity called The Second Portmeirion Foundation. All the cottages in the village are rented out as part of the Portmeirion Hotel. The village also has several shops and restaurants and is surrounded by the Gwyllt sub-tropical gardens and woodlands and miles of sandy beaches. Portmeirion is open all year round for both staying guests and day visitors alike. It is more famous today, however, for being the location where the television program "The Prisoner" was filmed, starring Patrick McGoohan. One can visit all the cottages and sites which figure prominently in the program. This personal web page of Portmeirion, by Brian Aldridge, gives you an overview of the town.

Of course, you may be more familiar with Portmeirion china, with its stunning botanical themes being among the world's most popular china patterns available today. While by no means an old company (founded in 1960), the Portmeirion story is an interesting one, and early Portmeirion patterns are highly collectible and of increasing value among aficionados.

At the company's web site, The Portmeirion Company, you can find out more about how the pottery began: "In 1960, Susan Williams-Ellis and her husband, Euan Cooper-Willis purchased a small pottery decorating company in Stoke-on-Trent called A.E.Gray Ltd. Susan had worked with A.E.Gray's for some years, sending her designs there to be produced exclusively for the gift shop at the Portmeirion Village in North Wales, which had been created by her father, Sir Clough Williams-Ellis in 1925. This was their first experience of the pottery industry." So now you know why the pottery company is named for the Welsh village!

The company has its headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Stoke-on-Trent, however. Many of you will recognize Stoke-on-Trent as one of the meccas of English Pottery. It is actually a region comprised of several small towns well known for potteries, including Tunstall and Burslem. A tourist's guide to the area, Stoke-on-Trent, will give you resources for a great pilgrimage!

Susan Williams-Ellis had an excellent background in fabric design, and began decorating her pottery with transfer techniques based on her fabrics. Always experimenting with glazes and colors, she created several lines which were very well-received by the public. Among these are "Malachite" and "Moss Agate". These were limited productions, however, because of the expense and difficulty of the new processes. Today, these and other patterns from the 1960's and early 1970's are among the most sought-after by collectors. Other patterns, inspired by her travels, include "Tivoli" and "Cypher" (named because the design resembles hieroglyphics). Their bright colors and abstract designs were extremely popular during the 1960's.

Cypher

Botanical Garden

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