When Armitage introduced the world’s first coloured sanitary ware in 1927, it transformed bathroom design. Using rare surviving colour samples, this article traces the evolution of the company’s distinctive colour range, explains how salesmen used these samples to market Armitage products, and explores the changing fashions that shaped British bathrooms from the 1930s onwards.
When divers explored the wreck of the Josephine Willis in the English Channel, they uncovered an extraordinary cargo of pottery destined for New Zealand—including a beautifully decorated water closet made at Armitage in the 1850s. The discovery sheds new light on Robert Hedderwick Penman, his short-lived pottery partnership and the company’s early export trade.
An unusual recruitment advert led to a surprising discovery about how Edward Johns & Co. helped shape the language of the bathroom. Company bulletins from the 1930s reveal why “lavatory” disappeared from its catalogues, why “washbasin” took its place, and how the firm debated the best name for the humble W.C.
A surviving pay claim from 1914 provides a remarkable snapshot of the Armitage Pottery workforce on the eve of war. It records the wage dispute between employers and potters, identifies many of the men who signed the claim, and reveals how dramatically their lives were changed within a matter of months.
Where did the word “loo” come from? Among the many theories, one little-known explanation comes from an intriguing 1973 letter linking an aristocratic practical joke to one of Britain’s most familiar words. This article examines the competing origins of “loo” and considers why one story may be more believable than the rest.
What sort of a person was Edward Johns?
