Poole Pottery "Melbury"

Poole Pottery Melbury was produced on Poole’s Compact shape, the practical tableware form used for a wide variety of plain and decorated designs. It uses the Lakestone background, with its softly flecked cream-stone glaze and milk chocolate brown rim.

The decoration has a gentle hedgerow feel, with small flowers, leaves and trailing foliage in soft muted tones. Compared with some of Poole’s bolder Compact patterns, Melbury is quieter and more traditional, making it an easy design to live with for everyday tableware.

Melbury sits within the wider group of decorated Compact designs where Poole used established background glazes such as Broadstone, Parkstone and Lakestone as the base for additional patterns. In this case, the floral transfer softens the plain Lakestone look while still keeping the warmth of the underlying glaze.

When matching Melbury, it is worth noting the Lakestone background as well as the floral decoration. Lakestone is lighter and more subtly flecked than Parkstone, with a softer milk chocolate rim, so checking the base colour can help avoid confusion with related Compact ranges.

For many customers, Melbury is a pattern they are trying to keep in regular use. As a discontinued Poole range, it is often sought out by those looking to replace a broken mug, find a missing plate, or add useful bowls and serving pieces to an existing set.

Availability depends entirely on what becomes available through the pre-loved market. As with many decorated Compact ranges, some pieces appear more often than others, while harder-used items such as mugs, bowls and plates may be more difficult to source.