It was the year 1729, on the 21st of August to be precise, when an event took place which was to lead up to a brief period of glory for a rather modest pottery which would start up in 1745. This event was the marriage in Rawmarsh, Yorkshire, of a "horseshoer" by the name of George Bramhall (or Brameld)* of nearby Wath-upon-Dearne to Mary Wright of Rawmarsh.

George and Mary settled in Swinton, one of the five townships of the parish of Wath, and part of the estates of Earl Fitzwilliam. Here George had his smithy on the common, and the couple had at least twelve children, of whom five are known to have died in infancy or as young children. One of the children to survive was a son by the name of John, probably the seventh child of the marriage. John joined a local pottery, no doubt as an apprentice, and in due course became a potter. He achieved modest prosperity and eventually became a partner in the Swinton Pottery. In 1771, at the age of thirty, John married Hannah Bingley, probably a sister of Thomas Bingley who was one of his partners.

John and Mary are known to have had six children. Their eldest son William, and later the next son Thomas, joined their father in the pottery. In 1806, with the financial help of Earl Fitzwilliam, John and William gained sole control of the pottery. By 1810 the aging John seems to have left control of the pottery to William and Thomas, the latter having probably just become a partner. William died in 1813 at age forty one, and the younger brothers then came in, first George Frederick, born 1792, and later John Wager, born 1797. Their father John died in 1819.

Under the management of these three sons,Thomas the eldest being only 32, the pottery now took steps which around 1825 led to the manufacture of porcelain, a venture which had been strongly promoted by Thomas. At this time their single most important customer, for porcelain at any rate, was Earl Fitzwilliam, and they were able to get his consent to include the griffin crest of the Earl's family, the Wentworths, in the new mark they devised for use on porcelain. It was at this time that the pottery was renamed the Rockingham Works. It should be mentioned here that the name Rockingham came from the fact that the 2nd Marquis of Rockingham died without heirs in 1782 and left his estates in England and Ireland, including the estate in Swinton, to his nephew Earl Fitzwilliam.

Rockingham china gained its fame mainly through the commission obtained in 1830 to produce an extensive dessert service for King William IV. From this time on, the griffin crest applied to the china included the words "Manufacturers to the King". Porcelain was produced under the Rockingham name concurrently with Brameld earthenware till the business, after various financial crises, went bankrupt. It closed permanently in 1842.

* His marriage record refers to George Bramhall, but his will is signed "George Brameld". Bramhall is locally pronounced Bramel.