Vintage English Stoneware Lidded Storage Crock – Brown & Cream Country Kitchen Pot

A wonderfully substantial vintage English stoneware storage crock, complete with its original-style fitted lid and finished in a classic combination of warm cream and rich glossy brown.

This is exactly the sort of practical piece of old kitchenware that has become so appealing as decorative storage in today's country kitchens.

The tall cylindrical body is finished in a warm natural cream, while the upper section, rim, handles and lid have been given a deep brown glaze. The contrast is wonderfully simple and utilitarian – a design intended for everyday use rather than decoration, but one which has developed enormous character as it has aged.

Two small applied side handles sit beneath the upper rim, while the inset lid has a substantial raised knob that makes it easy to lift.

The underside is clearly impressed with ENGLAND, together with a circular impressed mark, confirming its English manufacture.

At approximately 21 cm tall and 26 cm across at its widest point, this is a good-sized crock with plenty of presence. It would look fantastic on open kitchen shelving, an old dresser or worktop alongside vintage jars, wooden boards, ironstone and other collected kitchen pieces.

It also remains a genuinely useful piece of storage. Depending on how you choose to use vintage kitchenware, it could hold utensils, packets, kitchen cloths or other household bits and pieces – or simply be displayed exactly as it is.

Dimensions

Approx. 26 cm long × 17 cm wide × 21 cm high

From the Brocante Trail 

Before modern plastic containers became commonplace, sturdy stoneware crocks like this were an essential part of the kitchen and pantry.

Stoneware was hard-wearing, relatively inexpensive and ideal for producing practical vessels for storing and preserving all manner of household provisions.

Today, these old utilitarian pieces have found an entirely different audience. Their earthy colours, simple forms and signs of age make them particularly appealing in country, farmhouse and rustic kitchens.

This English example has everything we like about traditional kitchen stoneware – useful, unfussy and beautifully decorative without ever having been designed to be.