GENERAL INTEREST
BUNNYKINS
by Nick Fletcher
It’s hard to believe that watercolours painted almost 100 years ago by a nun
working by candle-light today form the basis of a global pottery brand.
Yet that nun – Sister Mary Barbara – was directly responsible for sparking off the
famous Royal Doulton “Bunnykins” pottery which began production back in the
1930s and is still going strong today, sold all over the world.
The Bunnykins characters were lovable rabbits
depicted carrying out human activities. They
were created by a young woman called Barbara
Vernon, who was born in Shropshire in 1910. Her
father was then general manager of the Royal
Doulton factory, and when in the early 1930s he
was looking for some ideas for a range of childrens’
pottery, he turned to his daughter for help, for she
was a talented artist and had already created
a large number of rabbit-themed drawings and
water colours based on rabbits she had seen in the
garden.
The first batch of Bunnykins pottery based on these
paintings rolled off the production line in 1934 and
within three years had become so popular that
Doulton deleted all its other children’s’ pottery to
concentrate wholly on these delightful rabbits and
their comical antics.
16
Plates, bowls, cups and saucers, mugs, egg-cups,
jugs and teapots were among the range of items
featuring colourful scenes. In fact even by 1939
there were already no less than 66 different Bunnykin
scenes in use! In later years, many other Bunnykins-
themed items were made, including an extensive
range of rabbit figures.
There was great demand for more drawings but
by then, the young Barbara had decided upon a
religious vocation and had entered a convent in
Sussex. For a while she continued to draw the rabbit
scenes for use on the pottery, often working late at
night by candlelight to complete them so that the
work did not interfere with her daily religious routine.
The head of the convent had allowed her to do
the drawing as long as there was ‘no financial gain’
so neither Barbara nor the convent ever received
royalties from a brand which went on to earn millions.