Dora May Billington
Born 1890
Died 1968
Active: 1911 - 1968
Country of birth and death: England
Potter, teacher, designer, author
Born in Tunstall, Staffordshire. Her father and grandfather worked in the potteries. Dora studied at Hanley School of Art and then the Royal College of Art where she took over as an instructor in 1915 (on the death of Richard Lunn). From 1919 Billington taught at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. Her lectures on pottery materials and chemistry attracted students form other colleges, including the Royal College of Art. In 1937 she published 'The Art of the Potter' (OUP) and in 1962 'The Technique of Pottery' (Batsford). Billington designed for industry as well as making studio pots. There are a number of examples of her work in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. She died in London.
Locations
Address 15 Stanley Street Tunstall Stoke-on-Trent | View on map
1911 (Circa)
Address 11 The Crest Surbiton London | View on map
1932 (Circa)
Institutional and Business Connections
Studied at Royal College of Art (including National Art Training School)
1914 (Circa) - 6 July 1917
Listed as a student at the College for eleven terms. Left the College in the 1916-1917 session. Subsequent profession is described as 'Instructor - Pottery Class - RCA': see 'Register of R. C. A. Students' (1907-1924), p. 114.
Teacher at Royal College of Art (including National Art Training School)
1917 (Circa)
Left the Royal College of Art as a student in the 1916-1917 session. Billington's subsequent profession is described as 'Instructor - Pottery Class - RCA': see 'Register of R. C. A. Students' (1907-1924), p. 114.
Teacher at Central School of Arts and Crafts
September 1919
First as a teacher of pottery in 1919. Not listed between September 1921 and August 1924, but listed again from September 1924.
Still listed as a teacher of pottery in the 1951-1952 prospectus.
Sources
A Century of Art Education in the Potteries. With notes on the Artists, 1953 Local Studies
1953 (Circa)
p. 38.
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2009
RG14PN16478 RG78PN1020 RD360 SD2 ED22 SN120
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2007
2007
Name: Dora M Billington
Birth Date: abt 1890
Date of Registration: Sep 1968
Age at Death: 78
Registration District: Kingston upon Thames
Inferred County: Greater London
Volume: 5c
Page: 759
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
2006
Name: Dora May Billington
Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1890
Registration District: Wolstanton
Inferred County: Staffordshire
Volume: 6b
Page: 137
London County Council Central School of Arts & Crafts. Prospectus and Time-Table of Session beginning on the 22 September 1919
22 September 1919
p. 13.
London County Council Central School of Arts and Crafts London. Syllabus and Timetable, 1951-1952
September 1951 (Presumed)
p. 29.
London County Council Central School of Arts and Crafts. Prospectus and Time-Table of Session beginning 27 September 1920
27 September 1920
Unpaged timetable.
Register of Royal College of Art Students, 1907-1924 Royal College of Art
1907
p. 114.
The crafts in Britain in the 20th century
1999 (Circa)
p. 40
Citing this record
'Dora May Billington', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib4_1219070643, accessed 22 Jan 2021]
