Farnham Pottery (Surrey)

Ha Ha so have I!

Had a lovely time Thursday afternoon at Farnham Pottery which is currently undergoing restoration (didn't realize its not yet open to the public; oops). Shown around by the owner who'd stepped in at the 11th hour and saved it from developers who were going to turn it into offices. His wife is a potter with West Street Potters which occupies one wing of the building (first photo). He said most wives would have settled for a shed at the bottom of the garden  




The old front entrance:



The fancy chimney which acted as an advertisment for their tiles



The old toilet block with green Farnham Pottery roofing tiles.




Archway with a Farnham owl



These tiles were the old floor of the kiln, where glaze has puddled round the base of pots during firing. The balustrade is made from old wooden batons used to carry pots/chimneys to the kiln.




One of the back rooms where they've saved the old Farnham wall tiles

Like the Tiles...when does it open to public and is it near a station(i know i can google-but its nice to chat)

It is a walkable distance from Farnham station (trains from Waterloo every 30 minutes) or you could get a cab. Despite its name the pottery is at Quennells Hill, Wrecclesham GU10 4QJ rather than in Farnham.

I suspect that it would be some time before it is open to the public, as when I went around a couple of years ago there is loads of costly work to be done and lack of money. There were also loads of pots, mostly damaged, that had been left since the pottery originally closed in places that weren't really accessible due to the floors being rotten or missing altogether.

You might keep an eye on the website below regarding events and there are some good images there also: -

http://www.318ceramics.co.uk/

Thanks

Also check out West Street Potters page on Facebook. They hold regular pottery courses.
The new owner has done a huge amount of work and is aiming to open by Easter. There are plans for a gallery and thryve converted the internal kiln into a bread oven and plan to sell artisan foods. Also plans to move some of the Farnham pottery from the local museum and from store. Theyd also like to hear from anyone prepared to loan their Farnham Pottery to their display.

They're also planning more exhibitions.
Its a bit of a walk from the station and you'll need a map as it's currently unsignposted.

thanks naomi....i will google it

Is this a or a :

Congratulations, you have a Farnham owl.

...two Farnham Owls.

Great find Crawford : )

My first owl! I'm so proud!

Twins!

really good find what size are they?

Big, the washbowl is 400mm and jug 300mm.

that's a good size wash bowl and looks in good nick , when can you post them to me ?

LOL - It was from a dealer and a risky punt. No the bowl has a six inch by two chunk out the back but the front face is good. Been glued so the bits are there - I suspect that this is one worth the repair. Jug has small old chip.

http://www.farnhampottery.info/lev3bed.htm

This was interesting and the dealer did mention this. Not true.

Oddly, I was pissed off today as my donkey did not run yesterday (ground too hard) and to add insult to injury it rained today and i got cold and wet. But went with the Irish and winnings on the 1000 paid for the Farnham - hope luck comes in threes and there is one more to come.

they are worth getting repaired this large wash bowl has a crack that has been stapled sometime in the past , PS I had a good week on the Gee gee's also , first in a while though

Well I'm no Farnham collector. I can well understand how these big bowls get damaged. Wet fingers, half awake. I'm surprised the jug still has a handle as it must hold x8 pints? more? It's too 19th C for my collection.

(Had £4 last October on Elm Park for the 2000 at 260:1...and no ff-ing rain)

Well if u want to sell , you probably would do better on ebay , u can pm me how much your looking for if u like .

Well say NM friends MEGA owl go well on EB. Blue seems to be popular. I 'll post better photos. tThis jug alone holds 8+ pints surprised the handle is still on!

The big blue Farnham owl did very well; better than expected.

Yes it flew away!

Mine has found a place in the kitchen after a good clean.