Hornsea Pottery worth thousands of pounds has gone under the hammer following the closure of one of the last retail outlets in the town selling the designs that once made the resort world-famous.
The auction – which included vintage period pieces and the modern Hornsea pattern wares now being manufactured – was ordered by financial specialists handling the liquidation of Hopfrog, which was based at Hornsea Freeport.
Hopfrog started life as a craft beer retailer, a business that developed into a café bar before expanding into larger premises and then adding the Hornsea Pottery Design Shop.
At the time, the owners said the development was the realisation of a dream to keep the long-closed pottery’s legacy alive in the town and to be involved with the beginning of a new era for the designs. However, tough trading conditions resulted in the decision to close the business at the beginning of June.
The insolvency specialist handling the liquidation of the company – Kingsbridge Corporate Solutions of Hull – instructed Scunthorpe auctioneers Eddisons to sell off the entire remaining stock plus equipment and furnishings.
Ahead of the sale, Eddisons director Paul Cooper said: “The vintage Hornsea on offer in the auction includes small collections of many of the designs that took the country – and indeed the world – by storm in the 1970s and 1980s.
“We have more than 30 pieces of Heirloom, the pottery’s first extensive range of tableware, launched in 1967 – a pattern designed by John Clappison, the Hull butcher’s son and Royal College of Art student who became the pottery’s chief designer.
“Other noteworthy lots include 40 pieces of Clappison-designed Bronte tableware, the distinctive two-tone brown pattern that shouts ‘Hornsea’ at 10 paces. It was extremely popular back in the 1970s but nevertheless plates and bowls in perfect condition are still hard to come by, according to specialist collectors. The auction includes two dozen in three different sizes.”
The vintage wares up for sale also included several pieces of Contrast, one of Hornsea’s most striking designs that achieved success around the world. It was so highly regarded that in 1976 the Victoria and Albert Museum acquired a set for their permanent collection. The auction also featured examples of the green floral Fleur, the Sara Vardy-designed pattern that was Hornsea’s best-selling range in the US.
Hopfrog was an approved outlet for the Hornsea design products and giftware that are once again being manufactured, under licence from the American company that today owns the Hornsea intellectual property rights including designs, patterns and trademarks.
The auction also featured stock and equipment from the Hopfrog bar, including craft ales and spirits, as well as the 1960s period teak furniture by renowned manufacturers such as G Plan, Stag, McIntosh and others that adorned the premises.
After the auction on Tuesday, September 10, Mr Cooper said it had attracted an enormous amount of interest from all over the country, and some 300 people were involved in the bidding. Many of the star vintage Hornsea lots went out of the area. A bidder in Telford paid £250 for a small collection of Saffron pattern pieces, while a buyer in Birmingham snapped up lots of Heirloom (£150) and Bronte (£160).
He added: “The response showed that there’s still a lot of interest – and fondness – for Hornsea out there.”
