Jubilee fever won hearts and minds across the country this year, when the Queen celebrated 60 years in the throne, with visits including to York. But Julie Hayes, business editor, finds businesses in North and East Yorkshire are making things all year round that are fit for the Queen.

Pottery’s memories

For Fangfoss Pottery, the Queen’s jubilee holds extra special memories.

The business, which was set up by Gerry and Lyn Grant in 1977 in the old village school in Fangfoss, spent most of the year hand-throwing mugs for Her Majesty’s Silver Jubilee.

The business has become established as a manufacturer of handmade, site-specific and commemorative pottery, as well as producing domestic items and gifts.

Lyn said: “We set up in 1977 and spent nearly the whole year making Silver Jubilee mugs for people all over the country. The same happened for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and it’s happening again now. We’ve never been so busy.”

The pair actually got to talk to the Queen in her Golden Jubilee year, when she visited Beverley. “She was very interested to hear about the setting up of the pottery in 1977 and admired the Jubilee mugs we were producing at the time. However, what she really enjoyed talking about was our little dog – tucked behind our display.”

Just recently, the company spotted one of its original Jubilee pint tankards from 1977 in a local charity shop. The pottery had not kept any when they were made. She said: “This was a great find. It cost £1.99 which is probably more than it cost 25 years ago!”

Part of the furniture

John Freeborn, a cabinet maker hidden away in Shambles, specialises in one-off pieces made for a special purpose.

When the Queen visited York, he was commissioned to make a wooden box to display chocolates made for Her Majesty by York confectioners Nestlé, York Cocoa House and Tangerine Confectionery.

Mr Freeborn made the two-layered wooden and glass casket, which was presented to the Queen on her visit to the city on April 5.

The business, set up by John’s father, used to sell its own furniture from the shopfront in Shambles, but now this is a gift shop, selling wooden items both made locally and imported. Parking issues, cheaper imports and mass production have changed the nature of the business into specialist cabinet making.

Mr Freeborn said the furniture he makes in his small workshop is for architects, interior designers, tradesmen, local churches and private customers, who return again and again in their hunt for the perfect item.

Most of its work is creating one-off pieces which require the expertise and flexibility of a traditional cabinet maker, or the repair of old and beloved pieces, as well as creating replica pieces to extend existing ranges, he said.

John left school and became an apprentice for the business, which his father, Ernest Freeborn, set up after the Second World War. His father, who died three years ago, was trained by renowned cabinet maker Gordon Russell in the 1920s and worked on wooden aircraft during the war before he started to restore antique furniture.

Among the bespoke pieces John has crafted are a pair of oak shelving units for The Gordon Russell Design Museum in his memory because at the time, Ernest Freeborn was his oldest living apprentice at the age of 97.

Stephen Hardcastle, who works with John in the business, served the next apprenticeship to Ernest Freeborn, four years after John.

Prestigious Peppers

Peppers Marquees, a 100-year-old family business based in Snaith, East Yorkshire, has been awarded a Royal Warrant of Appointment to provide marquees for the Prince of Wales.

Danny Tuplin, contract manager at Peppers Marquees, said they had been noticed by the Prince of Wales’s office after providing marquees at events where there was a royal presence.

They started working directly for the Prince of Wales about eight years ago, and were awarded the royal warrant, which means the company will supply marquees to the prince for the next five years, earlier this year. Mr Tuplin said: “They invite you to do one or two little things to see if you cut the mustard and if you can go about doing things without disclosing information.”

The company has a semi-permanent marquee at Dumfries House, Prince Charles’s residence in Scotland, and caters for a variety of events held by the His Royal Highness.

He said: “The prestige is massive, but it’s not a huge volume of business. We have just started to notice one or two enquiries off the back of it. They know we’re doing something right.”