What's traditional?

'Ironstone' was patented by the Mason family in Staffordshire in 1813 and there is a theory that it was a ruse to confuse their competitors since, although there is no iron in the original pottery, many people tried to include it! As a marketing message though, the name worked well and the pottery had the reputation of being as 'hard as iron'. The producers also took advantage of the vogue at the time for Chinese and oriental patterns.