Potters proudly display their work
Potters working at the ‘slave wheel’
Absalom Harris with an owl pot
Aerial view of Pottery in 1990s
Typical view of the Courtyard in 1980s
The Toilet Block with green pantile roof
The roof in need of repair in 2006
Pottery clock - the original mould is still at the Pottery
“Tudor” green-glazed pottery in the Museum of Farnham
Typical greenware vase
The original entrance in Pottery Lane
The owl arch
The interior of the kiln when in use
Samples of glazed tiles in the glaze room
The kiln before restoration
The kiln restored and protected
The Pottery in 1900
The Pottery in 1970
The Pottery in 2008
The Farnham Pottery restoration project
History of the Pottery
The Pottery was founded by Absalom Harris in 1872 and for more than a century a wide range of specialist architectural, garden and domestic wares were fired in the kilns at Wrecclesham, near Farnham, Surrey. In its heyday, the Pottery operated its own clay pits, had four working kilns and employed up to 30 men.
The business could number the Queen Mother and Gertrude Jekyll amongst its customers, as well as supplying shops like Heals and Liberty's of London. 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. The Farnham Pottery represents the final flowering of this tradition, and is one of the best preserved examples of a Victorian country pottery left in England.
History of the Pottery
The Pottery was founded by Absalom Harris in 1872 and for more than a century a wide range of specialist architectural, garden and domestic wares were fired in the kilns at Wrecclesham, near Farnham, Surrey. In its heyday, the Pottery operated its own clay pits, had four working kilns and employed up to 30 men.
The business could number the Queen Mother and Gertrude Jekyll amongst its customers, as well as supplying shops like Heals and Liberty's of London. 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. The Farnham Pottery represents the final flowering of this tradition, and is one of the best preserved examples of a Victorian country pottery left in England.
The Family
Absalom Harris came from a family with a long history of potting. Absalom himself was born in 1857 and was soon apprenticed to George Cobbett, a relative of William Cobbett the politician. After running potteries at Charles Hill and Alice Holt, he bought the present site at Clay Hill, and built the Pottery largely from bricks and fittings made on the site. Five generations of the Harris family continued the tradition of pottery making until production finally ceased in 2000.
The Products
While the Pottery has long been famous for its hand-thrown terracotta garden wares, it has also produced a wide range of other products. Many of these were designed in co-operation with the then Farnham School of Art and include an eclectic range of glazed Arts and Crafts Movement wares, as well as copies of green-glazed Tudor Pottery. Bricks, tiles, chimney pots, architectural mouldings, and even potter's wheels and extruding machinery were manufactured and exported worldwide.
The Pottery still contains examples of the original moulds used to produce everything from glazed clock faces to decorative encaustic tiles. A number of local houses were built using architectural products made on this site and fine examples can still be seen within a few hundred yards of the Pottery.
Restoration
By May 1998 the Pottery had fallen on hard times and the buildings had become very dilapidated. Much of the original property had been sold off piecemeal and the Pottery itself was acquired by the Farnham (Building Preservation) Trust in order to save it from demolition and redevelopment. After a survey by the Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments of England the Pottery was Grade II Listed. Soon after, the Harris pottery business ceased.
The Trust restored the buildings sympathetically in a phased programme funded by the Trust and various grant-giving organisations. Workshops were provided for two teaching groups, West Street Potters and Farnham Sculpture and a tile and pottery company. A café and local food retailing business were accommodated in restored out-buildings buildings where two live-work units were also created. Additional space has yet to be adapted for occupation.
While the Pottery has long been famous for its hand-thrown terracotta garden wares, it has also produced a wide range of other products. Many of these were designed in co-operation with the then Farnham School of Art and include an eclectic range of glazed Arts and Crafts Movement wares, as well as copies of green-glazed Tudor Pottery. Bricks, tiles, chimney pots, architectural mouldings, and even potter's wheels and extruding machinery were manufactured and exported worldwide.
The Pottery still contains examples of the original moulds used to produce everything from glazed clock faces to decorative encaustic tiles. A number of local houses were built using architectural products made on this site and fine examples can still be seen within a few hundred yards of the Pottery.
Restoration
By May 1998 the Pottery had fallen on hard times and the buildings had become very dilapidated. Much of the original property had been sold off piecemeal and the Pottery itself was acquired by the Farnham (Building Preservation) Trust in order to save it from demolition and redevelopment. After a survey by the Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments of England the Pottery was Grade II Listed. Soon after, the Harris pottery business ceased.
The Trust restored the buildings sympathetically in a phased programme funded by the Trust and various grant-giving organisations. Workshops were provided for two teaching groups, West Street Potters and Farnham Sculpture and a tile and pottery company. A café and local food retailing business were accommodated in restored out-buildings buildings where two live-work units were also created. Additional space has yet to be adapted for occupation.
Specialist conservators were commissioned to conserve the bottle kiln, with its new protecting roof, and to repair damaged tiles on the original entrance, which features an owl with outspread wings and 'A Harris & Son Pottery Works 1873' in Arts and Crafts lettering.
Awards for the restoration work at the Pottery were received from Surrey Historic Buildings Trust, the Farnham Society and the Surrey Industrial History Group.
The Kiln
The last surviving kiln, an important example of a wood-fired updraft kiln, built some time before 1913 was threatened with demolition. The distinctive extruded bricks, terracotta capping pieces and characteristic roof tiles, all originally made by Harris at the pottery, were restored; and an open protective canopy roof was provided together with a raised floor, accessible by timber stairs from the ground floor enclosure, enabling the kiln to be inspected from an upper level. The work was completed at a cost of £55,000. Its metal banded cylindrical base has a raised brick floor over the twin fire tunnels, with a smaller cylindrical inner wall. This allowed the heat rising in the narrow space around it to fire the closely packed wares in the central firing chamber. The upper brick cone rises through the roof where it is faced with roofing tiles. This enclosed space has become an interpretation area, with an informative exhibition for visitors to learn more about the history of the Pottery.
Sale of the Pottery
On 24th June 2011 The Farnham (Building Preservation) Trust exchanged contracts to sell its freehold interest in the Pottery to Mr and Mrs Guy Haines who have plans to relaunch the pottery as a practical space providing education for both novice and experienced ceramicists, working with the Farnham Pottery Trust which includes both the established ceramics group West Street Potters, and Ashley Howard, tutor at UCA.
Sale of the Pottery
On 24th June 2011 The Farnham (Building Preservation) Trust exchanged contracts to sell its freehold interest in the Pottery to Mr and Mrs Guy Haines who have plans to relaunch the pottery as a practical space providing education for both novice and experienced ceramicists, working with the Farnham Pottery Trust which includes both the established ceramics group West Street Potters, and Ashley Howard, tutor at UCA.
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