Burleydam WI hear about Victorian Staffordshire Portrait Figures

Burleydam and District Women's Institute report that the title of the talk "Victorian Staffordshire Portrait Figures, 1837 – 1902" sounded rather like a subject from Mastermind! What unfolded at their March meeting, though, through slides and words, was a fascinating glimpse into the social history of Queen Victoria's reign.

"As people moved into towns from the country, leaving agriculture for the new factory system of production, they provided the cheap workforce which was to make Britain the centre of world manufacture. The working poor were patriotic, sentimental, Non-Conformist, left wing and with a love of animals. To meet this new market the Potteries produced portrait figures which were cheap enough for the poor to buy." "Copied from engravings in newspapers and magazines the figures provided likenesses of the Royal Family, religious leaders (Non-Conformist of course), famous entertainers including the Lion Queen who tragically got mauled to death by one of her tigers, sportsmen, characters from Shakespeare and figures of people and places to illustrate the more lurid murders of the day. The most popular subject was war with figures from the Indian Mutiny, the death of Nelson and Florence Nightingale." "Interestingly, what today has become a famous episode of gallant British failure, The Charge of the Light Brigade, was in those days ignored as the disaster it was. No one wished to have a reminder of that on their mantlepiece!"

"One sensed that Alf Hughes could have spoken for hours such was his enthusiasm for his subject. The charm of these naïve figures allowed us to forget, for a while, the environment in which they were produced with children of nine and ten crowded into dark sheds, working long hours to paint them."

"The competition, an antique item, was won by Nancy Lightfoot, Liz Gentil was second and Sheila Beeston third."

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