Toby Jug

John Barleycorn Doulton had made Toby jugs in a traditional manner since 1815 but in the 1920s Harry Simeon added colour. This inspired Charles Noke, a Doulton artist to rethink the Toby jug tradition. He envisaged a more colourful and stylish jug based on characters from English song, literature, history and legend, designed to appeal to future generations. It took him almost ten years to be satisfied with the design and production, but in 1934 the first character jug was launched. He chose as his subject John Barleycorn, a figure symbolising whisky. It became an instant success and the range was added to with Old Charley, the Night Watchman, Sairey Gamp, Parson Brown and Dick Turpin.

A Toby jug, also known as a Fillpot, is ceramic jug in the form of a seated person. Typically the figure is a heavily-set, jovial man holding a mug of beer in one hand and a pipe in the other and wearing 18th century attire, namely a long coat and a tricorn hat. The tricorn hat forms a pouring spout, often with a removable lid and a handle that is attached at the rear. No one really knows why he was named it ’Toby’ although it is possible he named them after Sir Toby Belch a character in Shakespeare’s Twelth Night.

Today, Toby jug popularity shows no signs of waning and they hold their price at auction sales. Their appeal is wide reaching because Doulton jugs are antiques, prized for their craftsmanship and subject matter.