Bone China - Something very common in the UK

Bone china?
What is bone china? Does it really contain bones?
The story of bone china starts with Josiah Spode. Spode was born in 1733 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire in England. The county of Staffordshire is world-renowned for its ceramics and porcelain. When he was 16 or 17, young Josiah apprenticed with Thomas Whieldon, one of Staffordshire’s finest potters.
Spode worked for other potters and also co-owned factories with other potters until 1767 when he formed the Spode factory. This factory was wholly owned by him by 1776 and that factory continues in operation in the same spot today. It is the oldest porcelain factory to be in business at the same site.
Josiah passed his factory on to his son, Josiah Spode II (1754-1827). Josiah II apprenticed in his father’s factory and opened a London gallery to show off his father’s porcelain.
Porcelain is an ancient ceramic material perfected by the Chinese. There are examples of porcelain that date back to the 7th century. Porcelain is commonly called china, as this is where the material originated. There are three types of porcelain, hard paste, soft paste and bone china. In 1800, Josiah Spode II created bone china by adding bone ash to the formula for porcelain. The result was the hardest, most durable porcelain available.
Hard paste porcelain is made from kaolin and petuntse. The materials are fired at high temperatures, with or without a glaze, and produce a hard, translucent material. Soft paste porcelain contains the kaolin and petuntse of hard paste but also includes frit – a combination of various materials like white sand, nitre, alum, salt and gypsum. The frit in the mixture liquefies and turns to glass when fired and the glassy bits fuse to the porcelain. The resulting soft paste porcelain has a grittier feel to it and is not as strong as hard paste porcelain.
Bone china is the toughest of porcelains and does indeed contain bones. Bone ash makes up the greatest part of the formula for bone china, with the balance of the formula containing kaolin and petuntse. The resulting material is hard, resilient and an ivory white in color. This formula remains the standard for porcelain manufactured in England.
How do bones become bone ash?. All tissue is removed from animal bones and they are fired at temperatures of up to 1000 degrees. The resulting ash is crushed to a powder and mixed with water before being added to the other porcelain material.

The best cup of tea is always out of a china cup