James Morley of Nottingham was making brown salt-glazed stoneware by 1693, when he was sued by John Dwight of Fulham for infringement of his patent. During the early eighteenth century production increased and the industry was at its most prosperous between about 1760 and 1790. The names of over sixty Nottingham potters have been recorded but so few pieces are marked that it is rarely possible to make attributions. It is also difficult to distinguish Nottingham stonewares from those made at Crich in Derbyshire.

Nottingham was renowned for tavern mugs, and also produced a great variety of domestic pots, generally decorated with incised, cut or rouletted patterns. Two-handled cups were popular gifts, and examples inscribed with the names of a man and woman may commemorate marriages. These are modest versions of the silver two-handled cups which were the most important form of presentation plate during the eighteenth century. An overall lustrous brown colour, frequently much darker than this cup, was typical of Nottingham stoneware. It could have been achieved by dipping the pots in a thin coat of iron-bearing slip, but probably occurred naturally as a result of a high iron content in the clay and generous amounts of salt thrown into the kiln during firing.