Spode and Barbecue

Pattern number S3251

It is summertime in the UK and we should be enjoying long, hot, dry summer days. We are not! It is cool, wet and windy but it still seems the right time to write about Spode's Barbecue pattern.

Pattern number S3252 (detail)

Barbecue pattern is perhaps not what you might expect from its name. The design was produced on the unusual triangular shape called Tricorn which was introduced in 1957. The pattern comprised a series of four plates with comical pictures which were entitled 'No Comment'. Each of the 4 designs had its own pattern number indicating that these plates could be sold individually so they were not part of a tea set or dinner service, only plates were made.

Pattern number S3244 depicted a lamp post and dog's paw prints; S3251 depicted a cockerel bemused by a hen with ducklings; S3252 depicted a black cat being propelled to the moon by an old boot; S3253 depicted a steeplechase with a monkey as jockey on a kangaroo.

Pattern number S3244

Pattern number S3253 (detail)

I find these designs slightly odd but charming. Why the pattern should be called Barbecue, with the addition of 'No Comment', I have no idea! The Shorter Oxford Dictionary on Historical Principles records that the word barbecue was first used in the 17th century so it was not a new word in the 1950s for Spode to latch onto for this new pattern. Perhaps barbecues became fashionable at this time (I haven't researched this) and these triangular plates with a quirky design were thought to be appropriate.

Pattern number S3244 on a round shape

The black and white photo shows the pattern featuring the lamp post and dog's paw prints this time on a round shape - probably Coupe shape - the new and modern Tricorn shape was not a success in all countries to which Spode exported.

The backstamp included the word BARBECUE as if written on a fence. The pattern was not made for long, being discontinued in the early 1960s

Barbecue backstamp