Work in Progress: this is an on-going project and will see the site grow as more information is accrued. This site is a homage to Ken Townsend's life and works.

Our grateful thanks to Heather Townsend and her sons.

Who was he?

Kenneth Townsend (1931-99) managed to capture the humorous side of life through his art, drawings and writing.

Ken Townsend was based in Hastings and is known to have worked as a freelance designer for Hornsea Pottery, Chance Brothers (glass), Cuckoobird Productions (textiles) and James Galt & Co. Ltd (toys). He was also the art director for Pickpocket Books from 1991-1998.

He exhibited both at home and abroad and is represented in public collections in England, Scotland and Holland. He is the late brother of Dennis Townsend, Iden Pottery Rye.

His Work

His cartoons are certainly endearing, whimsical and unforgettable.

Tiles

Perhaps his most recognizable is the animal series 'Menagerie', which adorned ceramic tiles. A different style also appeared on his tiles featuring the 12 horoscope signs.

Chance Glass

The same style is seen in the Scenes of London slumped glass trays produced for W E Chance Ltd (of Chance Brothers). These were produced in 1972 and came as a set of six, a lone one featuring a Scottish Piper (1973) and a rarely seen Shakespeare series (1974). This range extended further to include other figures and these were seen only on Ken's independantly produced tiles.

Pottery

Another firm which adopted some of the Menagerie series was Weatherby Pottery and these can be seen on small dishes.

His other notable work includes the Love Mug series for Hornsea Pottery in 1976.

Book Illustrations

Ken was also a very productive illustrator for children's books. In particular his own book, Felix the Bald-headed Lion proved immensely popular and was chosen as an outstanding book for the Junior Literary Guild in USA.

PLEASE!

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photo © Pip Harris

This site is non-profit making and information is given freely – a link back would be appreciated.