Farnham Pottery

Farnham Pottery

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Farnham Pottery

Farnham Pottery is located in Wrecclesham near Farnham, Surrey. This is one of the best preserved examples of a working Victorian country pottery left in England^[1] and is Grade II Listed.

Farnham Pottery yard

Examples of typical Farnham Pottery wares from the early 20th century

History
Concern for the future
References
External links

History

A major pottery industry has existed in the Farnham area since Roman times and in the 16th century supplied London with a substantial part of its pottery requirements. At its height, the pottery operated its own clay pits, had four working kilns and employed up to thirty men. A lightweight tramway connected the pits to the pottery, with tubs being pushed along the temporary tracks.

In 1872 it was owned by Absalom Harris. The early work was utility wares including drainpipes and tiles. Around 1880, he was asked to copy a French vase. After many trials, Harris managed to produce a reasonable example using a lead glaze made green by the addition of copper oxide.^[2]

Henceforth the production of art pottery featured more prominently in the company's agenda, and Farnham Greenware, as it was known, established itself. A strong connection with Farnham School of Art was formed.

W. H. Allen designed for Farnham Pottery from the turn of the century until 1943. The pots were sold at Heals and Liberty. The company was widely known for its 'owl jugs' which were produced up to the 1950s.

The pottery is now no longer owned by the Harris family. Farnham Buildings Preservation Trust (FBPT) bought the site in 1998 and they have their own group of potters (West Street Potters) producing pottery there.^[3] The pottery still contains many examples of the original moulds and a number of local houses were built using architectural fittings made on this site.

Concern for the future

Farnham Pottery - the bottle kiln

There has been criticism of the owning FBPT ^[4], as the Trust has outlined plans to sell the pottery. The tenant potters at the site have been reported as feeling "threatened" by the plan and have founded another trust, "Farnham Pottery Trust" to try to safeguard the buildings' future as a centre for craft pottery. The FBPT refutes the suggestion that the buildings or their use as pottery workshops are in any danger