Browse Items (10 total)

Shortages of materials during the Second World War and into the 1950s meant that this pottery was designed to be as simple and hard-wearing as possible. This design became very popular and ‘Beryl’ pottery was used by families, business, and community…

In Europe, the ‘fair trade’ movement began in the 1950s when Oxfam UK began to sell crafts made by Chinese refugees in its shops. In 1964 Oxfam created the first Fair Trade Organisation. Now, 1.65 million people worldwide are part of a certified Fair…

When George VI was crowned ‘Emperor of India’, many of his ‘subjects’ were in the West Indies. After the abolition of slavery, men and women from poor areas of India were encouraged to move to the Caribbean to take up work on the land. These ‘East…

Fighting for the ‘Mother Country’ More than 16,000 men from the Caribbean joined the British West Indies Regiment (BWIR) during the First World War, and went to fight on the Western Front (Belgium, France and Germany), as well as being stationed in…

‘Moustache cups’ were invented in the 1860s by a Staffordshire potter called Harvey Adams. Designed with a ‘secret’ ledge to protect the moustache, the cups became so popular in Britain and America that Adams was able to retire within 15 years, his…

At just 5cm high and 7.5cm wide, this tiny tea bowl is an example of the Chinese porcelain bowls that tea was drunk from, until handles on teacups became popular in the later 1700s. Tea was introduced to Europe by Portuguese priests and merchants…

These photographs were taken at one of the 'A Nice Cup of Tea' parties in Oxford in June 2018.Visitors enjoyed looking at the different tea cups, the ritual of drinking tea, and performances from Euton Daley, poet, performer and producer,  and…

Christopher Codrington, a sugar-plantation and slave owner, left money for the building of All Soul's College's new library.You can find out more about Codrington's legacy here: The Codrington Legacy | All Souls College (ox.ac.uk) Photo by Fran Monks…

Buying fairly-traded tea means a fair wage for workers in India, China and other tea-producing areas.How do you take your tea? One sugar or two? We are all used to the welcome of a nice cup of tea. But for the Nice Cup of Tea project we looked behind…

Our everyday habit of drinking a cup of tea hides a history linked to Empire and transatlantic slavery.How do you take your tea? One sugar or two? We are all used to the welcome of a nice cup of tea. But for the Nice Cup of Tea project we looked…