Vintage Ridgways Coaching Days and Coaching Ways treacle jugs, a near pair

A beautiful pair of vintage Ridgways treacle jugs in the much loved Coaching Days and Coaching Ways pattern, finished in that warm amber brown glaze with fine black transfer scenes. They bring instant story to a kitchen shelf, and they look especially good mixed with simple white ceramics, dark wood, and a little brass.

This series was inspired by the 1888 book Coaching Days and Coaching Ways by William Outram Tristram, with illustrations by Herbert Railton and Hugh Thomson. Tristram’s writing captured the social life and scenery of England's coaching roads, with vivid details of inns, towns, travellers and the everyday rhythm of horse drawn transport before the railway era fully took over. Those illustrated scenes were later translated onto ceramics, which is exactly why these pieces feel so characterful. You are not just buying a pair of jugs, you are buying a little slice of that nostalgic travel era, made for the table.

They are lovely as a styling pair on open shelving, a dresser, or a bar cart, and they also work brilliantly for serving cream, custard, or sauces if you choose to use them. Try them beside cookbooks, or pop a few garden stems in one for an easy, collected look.

The larger jug measures 14 x 19 cm to the handle. The smaller jug measures 13.5 x 18 cm to the handle. As vintage pieces, expect gentle age related wear. Any surface marks, glaze crazing, or wear to the rim are best judged from the photographs.