James Hadley & Sons 

Artist Potters.

  Worcester

James Hadley was born in London in August 1837. His parents moved to Worcester when James was very young. James joined W H Kerr in 1851/2 and rapidly rose to be the chief designer. In 1875 James left the employment of the by now  Worcester Royal Porcelain Company (WRPC), to set up, in Worcester, as an independent designer and model maker. The WRPC entered into an agreement to buy the majority of his output.  In November 1896 WRPC told Hadley, who now employed his three sons, that they no longer needed his services. Hadley started his own pottery company, at first using the kilns at Locke's new works. Production started around July 1896 and Hadley opened his own factory in Sept 1897. James Hadley died on 23rd Dec. 1903 but his sons carried on until they persuaded WRPC to buy the business on 30th June 1905. Hadley employed and trained many young artists who were to become famous as WRPC names, Sedgley, Shuck, Jarman Kitty Blake and Walter Powell to name a few,
   The main innovation  at Hadley's factory was the use of coloured clays as "mounts" to the decorative panels. These colours were obtained by adding metallic salts to the liquid clay. There are three distinct phases of decoration, the very early stylised "allegorical" decorations, the realistic monochrome decoration of the first few years  and the realistic polychrome decoration of the last 4 to 5 years.
  Hadley marked the shape number on the base of his pieces and also numbered the decoration. For the unlocking of the code you ought to buy the book  "James Hadley & Sons Artist Potters Worcester" by Peter Woodger.