5. 1912–13: Breaking with Macintyre’s

This chapter gives the first detailed account of the closure of Moorcroft’s department and its consequences, drawing on the firm’s Minutes and on Moorcroft’s own notebooks, diary entries, and correspondence. As the rift deepened between Moorcroft and Watkin, the attitude of the Macintyre Directors to Moorcroft’s treatment was clearly ambivalent. Moorcroft’s decision to set up his own pottery (rather than to work as a designer in another firm) is a sign of his independent spirit and sense of vocation. In little more than six months, he developed a coherent business model, secured financial backing from Liberty’s, found a suitable site for his new works, and oversaw its design and construction. He also agreed a contract with Liberty’s which gave him the freedom to pursue his work as a potter, but which left Liberty’s free to withdraw their support after ten years if the enterprise was not commercially viable. It was a lifeline, but with strings attached. For all the challenges of this period, Moorcroft exhibited to great acclaim at the Ghent International Exhibition of 1913; the end of one phase of his career marked the beginning of another.