Hornsea Pottery was a business located in the coastal town of Hornsea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They specialized in tableware with elegant contemporary designs. The pottery was founded in 1949, in a small terraced house, by brothers Colin and Desmond Rawson with funding from local business man, Philip Clappison. The factory's earliest pieces were mostly designed by Colin Rawson. The products sold well and the pottery moved to larger premises and took on its first employee in 1950. Expansion of the business in the 1950s brought moves to larger sites in Hornsea. A second factory in Lancaster opened in 1974. In 1984, the company struggled and was bought out. Despite its difficulties, the factory continued to produce tableware and ornaments until April 2000 when it went into receivership. As part of the asset sales during receivership the design rights to the successful Taunton range of table wares was acquired by Poole Pottery. The remainder of the designs, patterns and Intellectual Property rights were sold to Mainscore Ltd and are now owned by Hornsea Potteries Intellectual Properties USA LLC. In 2008, Hornsea Museum opened a permanent exhibition of Hornsea Pottery. The V & A in London has numerous Hornsea Pottery items in its permanent collection. History Early years In 1949, Desmond and Colin Rawson started a business making plaster of Paris models to sell as souvenirs to tourists who were visiting the seaside town of Hornsea. Both had attended the Batley College of Art but they had no pottery-making experience. They worked in the scullery of their kitchen at 4 Victoria Avenue in the town. Initial funding came from a friend and local business man, Philip Clappison. After the purchase of a small kiln, they started working with clay. Additional funding was received from Charles Wright, a retired Morecambe hotelier, whose son, Micheal Wright, was working with Desmond on early products. Desmond Rawson's father-in-law, Henry Knowles, a solicitor in Morecambe, provided not only cash investment but all legal services for the rest of his life. Their products sold well and by 1950 they took on their first employee and moved to larger premises at The Old Hall in the Hornsea Market Place. Robert (Bob) Hindle, Desmond's brother-in-law, joined the company and provided additional share funding, and his 'straight dealing' policy provided the company with an excellent sales directorship for over 20 years. Edenfield site In the mid-1950s, the