Willow pattern plate

Since about 1994 I have eaten food from willow pattern plates and bowls. It is thought that this design originated in England towards the end of the C18 when the blue and white ware of the Chinese Qing dynasty was very popular. A standard design evolved in the potteries around Stoke on Trent that had a white background with a blue water-side landscape of trees, a bridge with three figures, buildings, a fishing boat, two birds, a fence etc. The design appears to have been in production ever since those early days. A story about the willow pattern characters was written to help promote interest and sales of the crockery. Our version is the work of the Churchill company and has proved remarkably hard wearing.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Prior Park footbridge, Great Malvern

Most civic parks worth the name feature a small lake and most of these small lakes incorporate a footbridge. That's certainly the case at Prior Park in Great Malvern, Worcestershire. Here the bridge is constructed of unvarnished timber that, almost inevitably, has something of the Chinoiserie about it.

That oriental flavour isn't as obvious as in the timber bridge at Croome Park, but it has a sprinkling of characteristic features that derive from the popular blue and white willow pattern of crockery dating from the C18 and later.

photos © T. Boughen    Camera: Nikon Z 5

Chinese bridge, Croome Court

When, in 1751, Lancelot "Capability" Brown was engaged to re-fashion the landscape around Croome Court, Worcestershire, he decided to keep the Chinese bridge that had been designed by William Halfpenny in the 1740s. "Chinoiserie" was fashionable during the eighteenth century and many British country houses still retain wallpaper, furniture, mirrors, tableware etc that was influenced by this taste for the oriental. Being made of wood the original bridge has not survived the intervening centuries. The National Trust, now the owners of Croome Court, recently had this replacement built. It is based on Halfpenny's original drawing that features in an eighteenth century book, and on Richard Wilson's painting. The National Trust website tells and illustrates the fascinating story of the building of the new bridge.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2