Wetheriggs Pottery facts for kids
Wetheriggs Pottery is a historic pottery in England. It is located near Clifton Dykes, about 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Penrith. This special place makes items from clay. It first opened in the mid-1800s. The pottery made useful things for farms and homes. Later, it also started making more artistic pottery. The buildings at Wetheriggs Pottery are very old and important. They are protected by law as a Grade II listed site.
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The History of Wetheriggs Pottery
The pottery started on land owned by the Brougham estate. Its story began around 1855. At that time, local clay from Clifton Dykes was used. Workers made bricks, tiles, and pipes from this clay.
How Pottery Making Began
Pottery making started in 1860. John Schofield and Margaret Thorburn moved to the site. They came from the Stepney Bank Pottery in Newcastle. The pottery stayed with the Schofield and Thorburn families. They owned it until 1973. In 1973, Wetheriggs Pottery became an Ancient Monument. This means it is a very important historical site.
Powering the Pottery
The pottery used to get its fuel, coal, by train. A special track connected it to the Eden Valley railway line. When the railway closed in 1962, the pottery's large oven, called a kiln, stopped being used. The old beehive-shaped kiln is still there today. Also, a machine called a blunger remains. This machine was used to prepare the clay.
In the 1990s, the steam engine at the pottery was fixed. A famous engineer named Fred Dibnah helped restore it. New areas were built for visitors to explore. These included a museum.
Pottery Today and Future Plans
For a while, Wetheriggs was the only steam-powered pottery left in the country. Mary Chappelhow became the main potter in 2003. However, pottery making has now stopped at the original site. Mary Chappelhow moved her studio to Brougham Hall.
From 2006 to 2014, a place called Wetheriggs Zoo and Animal Sanctuary was on the site. The zoo later moved to a different location.
In 2016, someone wanted to reopen the site. They planned to turn it into a holiday village. The plan included fixing up the old buildings. These buildings are the kiln, workshops, drying shed, kiln room, steam house, and blunger. They are all Grade II listed. The old kiln and clay pit are also protected as scheduled monuments. Fixing these buildings would help bring them back to their original look.
