Tea Blog

Price & Kensington pottery is known for affordable teapots and novelty wares. From the iconic British red telephone booth shaped teapot (no, Superman will not pop out of it) to the two-bell old-style alarm clock design and many more, including the cottage ware series, Price & Kensington teawares will perk up your tea time!

Unlike the Brown Betty which is made from a red terracotta clay, Price & Kensington pottery items are made of earthenware. Besides their fabulous, fun, and useful teapots, they make sugar/cream sets, storage jars with airtight seals, egg cups, dishwares, covered butter dishes, piggy banks, and more. Older pieces are considered collectibles — be sure to look for the proper markings on the bottom.

Price & Kensington was formed in 1962 when the Price Bros. (Burslem) Ltd. company (founded c. 1896) and Kensington Pottery Ltd. (founded in 1922) joined forces. They operate out of a brick structure built to resist fires in Longport, Burslem, Stoke On Trent, UK. Like many other pottery factories, this one backs onto the Trent and Mersey canal. Boating down the canal gives you a good view of the bottle-shaped kiln. The factory also has a little shop in it where you can see some of their more famous designs on display, such as their Big Ben teapot.

If you’re looking for a very usable, affordable, and yet stylish teapot, check out their 2-cuppers and 6-cuppers in nine different colors, from a clean looking white to bright hues of orange, red, aqua, and lime green, to a more sedate purple, dark blue, and a luscious looking brown. Mugs are available in six matching colors (sadly, no brown, dark blue, or white).

You can also go a bit goofy with their Daisy Cow tea-for-one set or add some “green thumb” appeal to your tea time with their Flowers in the Garden tea-for-one set (I love that little snail handle on the lid). Both are hand-painted so no two are exactly alike.

If you are interested in collecting Price & Kensington’s older wares, look for the green car-shaped egg cup, the black taxi-shaped teapot, the ewer and bowl, and the cottage wares which include a piggy bank, a biscuit (cookie) barrel, a teapot, and a covered butter dish, among others.

Note: I call my 6-cupper teapot a “Blue Betty” but, actually, she is stamped “Pristine — England” on the bottom. Price & Kensington has a true Dark Blue Betty.

See also:
Is Your Teapot a Dribbler?
Hemisphere Teapots — Out of This World
Buying a Tea Set
Teapots, Teapots and More Teapots
Collectible Byrd Teawares and Pottery
Coloring Up Your Teatime
“Basic White” Teawares
“Basic Black” Teawares
Teawares Fit for a Queen (or at least a Duchess)
White Teapots
Tea Station Interlopers
Those Wonderful Amsterdam Teapots
Metal vs. Porcelain and Bone China Teapots
3 Tea Pots Every Tea Lover Should Own
Yixing Teapots
Collectible Sadler Teapots
Tetsubin – Asian Teapots
Racing Car Teapot
The Humble and Excellent Brown Betty
Types of Teapots

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