A Brief History of the Leach Pottery St Ives.
The pottery was established by Bernard Leach in 1920 on his return to England from Japan. Bernard Leach accompanied by Shoji Hamada, had returned to England planning to start a pottery. After looking at various sites they finally chose a small plot of land on the outskirts of St Ives to build the pottery.
Leach and Hamada had no experience of crafts in England, their ideas were based on the conditions of craftsmanship in Japan. The pottery was to be about making and planning around the individuality of the artist, from the onset it was the economics of the studio and not a country workshop.
Hamada and Leach together built an Oriental climbing stoneware kiln, the very first to be built in the west, by the Autumn of 1920 the pottery workshop was also completed. Hamada lived in one corner of the workshop for three years finding himself, as Leach was to write in his autobiography " for there it was that he found himself and the sure pathway of his life."
In 1923 Tsuneyashi Matsubayashi a kiln specialist rebuilt to original kiln which was wood fired, this kiln was later converted to oil firing in 1937. The kiln was used up to the late 70's. when it became unsafe to use further, but fortunately it was not dismantled and remains in the pottery upto the present time.

For up-to-date information on the exhibition programme, opening times, entrance fees and much more visit the Leach Pottery website, www.leachpottery.com or by clicking HERE