Throughout the nineteenth century there was a demand for jugs in which drinks could be served and stored. Relief-moulded stoneware jugs were ideal for these purposes, being both sturdy and attractive. They were also inexpensive because their decoration was formed in one process with the body by press-moulding or slip-casting. Introduced in about 1820, they had become popular by the 1830s, and for the rest of the century they were made in many shapes and sizes with decoration in every imaginable style.

William Ridgway and his partner, James Leonard Abington, made a name for relief-moulded ware with best-sellers such as the ‘Tarn O'Shanter’ jug of 1835. In 1838 they were joined by Ridgway's son, Edward, who continued in partnership with Abington after his father's withdrawal from the firm in 1845.

The naturalistic and appropriate plant ornament of their ‘Bulrush’ jug may have been suggested by the water weeds on the ‘Well Spring’ glass carafe and jug, designed by Richard Redgrave R.A. (1804–88) for Felix Summerly's Art Manufactures in 1847. The simplicity of the jug's design is in marked contrast to some of its angular and heavily decorated contemporaries and it received a favourable review in The Journal of Design and Manufactures in 1849.