English Tea Cup and Saucer

The cup and saucer were produced by Royal Albert Ltd. The pattern is "Memory Lane." The story of Royal Albert stretches back over one hundred years to a small pottery business established by Thomas Wild in 1896, in Longton - one of the six towns that make up Stoke-on-Trent,“The Potteries”. Thomas C. Wild and Sons Limited became famous for the production of bone china tea and breakfast sets. In 1964, the Pearson Group bought Wild's company and merged it into a new company Allied English Potteries Ltd, although Wild and the other member companies continued to trade under their own, well-known, names. In 1970, Allied English Potteries Ltd renamed its Thomas C. Wild & Sons Ltd subsidiary as Royal Albert Ltd. Two years later, in 1972, the various Allied English Potteries Ltd companies were subsumed into Royal Doulton following Doulton’s acquisition by the Pearson Group. Royal Albert Ltd continued to operate as a unit of Royal Doulton at the St Mary's Works until the historic works were closed in 1998 with the loss of many hundreds of jobs. Manufacture of ‘Royal Albert’ ware was transferred to other Doulton factories and to Doulton’s manufacturing plant in Indonesia, and from December 2002 UK production of ‘Royal Albert' ceased. The historic St Mary’s Works was eventually purchased by a private owner with the intention of converting the building into a small pottery manufacturing site and visitor centre. Between 1972 and 2002, as a Royal Doulton company, Royal Albert Ltd continued to manufacture the traditional fine bone china tableware and teawares made by its famous predecessor. Harold Holdcroft's Old Country Roses, introduced in 1962, remain as the flagship of the Royal Albert brand and continues in production as one of the world's most popular and well known china patterns. In 2005 Wedgwood completed its takeover of Royal Doulton acquiring the ‘Royal Albert’ brand. Wedgwood itself was placed in receivership in 2008.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Doulton http://www.potteryhistories.com/page100.html
http://www.food-info.net/uk/products/tea/history.htm
https://qz.com/1176962/map-how-the-word-tea-spread-over-land-and-sea-to-conquer-the-world