Hornsea "Cascade"

Hornsea Cascade was introduced in 1983 and was displayed as part of Hornsea’s “Romantic Look”, a group of softer decorative ranges produced during the early 1980s. Brian Heckford records that this was the second time Hornsea had used the Cascade name, with the later tableware version made on the Contrast shape and featuring a floral design on a pale blue ground with dark brown banding.

The design has a more decorative feel than many of Hornsea’s earlier 1970s ranges. Apricot coloured flowers sit among green and brown foliage, with the main floral spray appearing across the centre of plates and bowls and around the sides of cups. The brown line detail around rims and borders gives the pattern a neat link back to the Hornsea Contrast shape family, while the floral decoration gives Cascade a gentler, more traditional table setting style.

Cascade is one of the less commonly seen Hornsea tableware patterns, partly because it belongs to a later and more specialised period in the company’s history. Its use of the Contrast shape means that some forms will feel familiar to collectors of Alaska, Charisma, Danube and other related Hornsea ranges, although the floral decoration gives Cascade a very different character.

As a discontinued Hornsea Pottery range, Cascade is now found through the pre-loved market and is usually sought by customers looking for replacement china to complete, extend or match an existing set. Availability can vary noticeably by piece, so matching cups, saucers, plates, bowls or serving items may depend on what becomes available at the time.

When matching Cascade replacement pieces, it is worth checking the backstamp, the brown rim detail and the exact shape, particularly where plain or lightly decorated Contrast-family pieces may appear similar at first glance. The floral centre and border decoration remain the clearest identifiers of the range.