Antique Victorian Staffordshire Pottery Spaniels and Animals

Victorian Antique Staffordshire Pottery Figures

Published on

May 2, 2018

1837 Coronation of Queen Victoria, aged 18
1840 Queen Victoria married Prince Albert
1841 Bristol to London Railway completed
1842 Mines Act: Boys in mines must be aged 10+
1843 Charles Dickens Christmas Carol published
1845 Irish potato famines and migration to US
1851 Great Exhibition
1851 Population of England 16.8 million, half now live in towns
1854-56 Crimean War: Russia v. Britain, France & Turkey
1854 Cholera epidemic
1856 Police forces now in every town
1861 Typhoid kills Prince Albert
1863 Worlds first underground railway
1864 Act of Parliament: Boys in chimneys must be aged 10+
1868 The last public hanging
1876 Telephone invented by Alexander Bell
1878 First public electric lighting in London
1880 School for ages 5 to 10 compulsory
1883 First electric railway
1887 Golden Jubilee
1891 Free school for all, ages 5 to 13
1901 King Edward VII coronation
1901 Population of England 30.5 million

Antique Victorian Staffordshire Pottery Spaniels

Who does not love a spaniel?

The popularity of today’s antique Victorian Staffordshire pottery spaniels surged. The King Charles spaniel the most popular of all, following the publicity given to Queen Victoria’s ‘Dash’.

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All figures available for sale at time of writing from

Madelena – world’s best collection of Staffordshire figures

Staffordshire Animals and Lions

Also popular with the public before and during Queen Victoria’s reign were lions and tigers.

Courtesy of the Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent, taken during a group visit, here are some interesting early figures.

Antique Victorian Staffordshire pottery spaniel or lion — Unusual pre-Victorian Staffordshire lion spill vase decorated with coloured lead glazes. Thanks to Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent.

Antique Staffordshire Pottery Lion — Circa 1780 Prattware figure of a very tame spotted Bear with Lions and dogs. Thanks to Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent.

Antique Victorian Staffordshire Pottery Dogs — Circa 1820 Pearlware Staffordshire Pottery Tiger. Extraordinarily long base accommodates the tail. Unusual depiction of a diminutive human in the jaws of the tiger. Thanks to Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent.

Back to Antique Victorian Staffordshire Pottery Spaniels and other breeds

The Queen and her public enjoyed other breeds too.

Antique Victorian Staffordshire Pottery Dogs, Antique Victorian Staffordshire Pottery Spaniels — Rare pair of Terriers and Pups

Antique Victorian Staffordshire Pottery Dogs Bearded Collies — Victorian Staffordshire Bearded Collies

Antique Victorian Staffordshire Pottery Dogs Pugs — Late Victorian Pottery Pugs, made in Scotland

Figures available for sale at time of writing from Madelena – world’s best collection of Staffordshire figures, spaniels, and other breeds

In Conclusion

We looked into a tiny corner of the enthralling world of antique Victorian Staffordshire pottery spaniels and discovered people, things, dogs and other animals from an era much different to our 21st century yet with so much in common. The figures connect us with the past, helping us to understand lives lived in different circumstances.

There is more, much more… we have not even touched on the animal stories, the places, palaces and pastimes making headlines back then.

Madelena – article on Staffordshire figures
Wikipedia – article on Staffordshire ‘figurines’
Potteries Museum – UK’s best collection of pottery made in Staffordshire