The Bottle Kiln At Winchcombe Pottery: History, Celebration and Restoration.
All about the history of the bottle kiln at Winchcombe Pottery, through its time as Beckett’s pottery, under Michael Cardew and Ray Finch. Also includes information about the much needed restoration project happening today.
Winchcombe Pottery lies in the beautiful rolling hills of the Cotswolds. It is actually not really in Winchcombe proper, but a little place called Greet, right next to Winchcombe. This is the place where I got my first taste of production pottery. I was interested in throwing and had played around on a wheel before, but never seriously taken it up. My grandparents lived just 3 miles away in Stanton, so it seemed like a perfect spot to learn more about the craft. Little did I know, when I called up and spoke to Mike Finch, that I had stumbled upon the oldest working pottery in England. The pottery is still going and churning out a wide range of stoneware pots that live up to and represent its history: here's the current website.
But this isn't about my time there; it's about the old bottle kiln at the pottery which is in need of some tender loving care. Let's go back to the start of the place...
This picture was painted by Thomas Hennell in the 1930s. Notice the chimney of the bottle kiln popping out of the roof of the house/workshop. Image courtesy of Matt Grimmitt.
Winchcombe Pottery was not always called that. It started out as a brickworks and evolved into a brickyard and pottery called both Greet Pottery and Beckett's Pottery, before ending up as Winchcombe Pottery. The origins of the pottery are not well recorded. One of the main pieces of evidence we have is the bottle kiln itself.
The bottle kiln in its current state. Image courtesy of Matt Grimmitt.
The exact dates aren't known, but brick historian Martin Hammond, who surveyed the kiln in 1999, identified the bricks used in the lower parts of the kiln as late 18th century and those above and forming the conical chimney as 19th and 20th century. The discrepancy in age of the bricks makes sense as the upper parts of the kiln would have needed repair at various points. This is somewhat inevitable in a large kiln used over many decades like this.
The lower chamber was loaded from the ground floor and the top chamber from upstairs on the first floor. I love this idea, of having a kiln that big -- a two-storey kiln which you could walk into from both floors of the workshop. Here's a sweet drawing of the kiln done by Martin Hammond in 1999:
Image courtesy of Matt Grimmitt.
The bottle kiln you see today is out in the open, exposed to the elements, but from the time it was built in the late 1700's until the 1970's it was inside a building. This assuredly helped protect the kiln, but did add an element of danger as the building suffered several fires over the course of its history.
In the picture below you can see the ruble of the old building that stood around the kiln to the left of it. In the foreground is the old horse drawn pugmill that was used to prepare clay.
Image courtesy of Oliver Kent. His full blog post is here.
There are still some of these original Beckett bricks, still hanging around the pottery today. Image courtesy of Matt Grimmitt.
So, as I said before, the bricks in the lower part of the bottle kiln date the pottery to the late 18th century. At this stage it was a brickyard, producing bricks and tiles. The clay was dug from a pit onsite. It didn't take long before someone realised the clay was good for throwing, too, and started producing functional earthenware pottery as well. This clay and the bottle kiln were the backbone of the pottery until the 1950's.
The 1841 census shows that William Beckett, aged 45, was working as a brickmaker, as well as there a potter, employed on the premises. William Beckett passed the business on to his son Richard A. Beckett, who kept it going as a joint brickworks and pottery. The 1901 census shows several workers on site besides the Beckett's (Richard and his widowed mother): a "carter at the pottery," "one brickmaker," and one "flower pot maker."
Here is an undated postcard from the time when the business was under Richard Beckett, advertising some of the items produced there:
Thanks to Ron and Lorna Wheeler for letting me use this advertisment. It appears on page 22 of "Winchcombe Pottery: The Cardew - Finch Tradition" by Ron Wheeler. This excellent book is available here, or at the Winchcombe Pottery shop.
The Becketts clearly produced a range of essential products: not just bricks and tiles but pipes, garden pots, vases, and other kinds of practical glazed wares. This was a country pottery, catering to what people needed in a world before plastics. All of the wares were fired in the large bottle kiln.
Elijah Comfort at the door of the pottery. He was known to throw in a shirt, with a pipe hanging from his mouth. Image courtesy of Matt Grimmitt.
Richard Beckett died in 1913 and his mother managed the place for a year after his death, until it was taken over by Winchcombe Brick and Tile Company Ltd in 1914. The making of pottery seems to have paused then until Michael Cardew came along in 1926 and revived it.
Michael Cardew managed to pursuad Elijah Comfort to come and work for him as a thrower. This was an important as Elijah was a production potter who had worked at the Beckett pottery for years. He was the head thrower (the "flower pot maker" from the 1901 census), and provided an essential bridge between two eras. Ron Wheeler, in his book "Winchcombe Pottery: The Cardew-Finch Tradition," says Elijah, "made an invaluable contribution... producing some of the old country ware for which the former pottery was known" (1998, p.32).
Here's one of Elijah's large 80lb flower pots, thrown with one lump of clay. Next to it, one of the saggars that all of the glazed ware were fired in. Image courtesy of Matt Grimmitt.
Cardew went on to employ several other potters, including Charlie and Sydney Tustin. The pots Cardew made at Winchcombe are widely regarded as his best. The line of tableware he designed at Winchcombe melded country pottery tradition and a modern sensibility, and have had great influence on the studio pottery world today. The pots he made at Winchcombe are highly sought after.
Charlie Tustin stoking the bottle kiln. Image courtesy of John Edgeler of the Winchcombe Archive Collection.
I don't want to go into Cardew too much, as that's a whole other rabbit hole. Needless to say, he is a legend. I would say he is second only to Bernard Leach in terms of influence on studio pottery today. There is an excellent short video of Cardew throwing and then loading pots into the bottle kiln called "One Good Turn." You can view it here.
The picture below is one of Cardew's pots in front of the kiln, taken by Dan Finnegan in the 1970s:
You can see the fat kiln shelves in the background. Image courtesy of Dan Finnegan.
Here's a picture of the lower chamber all cleaned out today:
Image courtesy of Matt Grimmitt.
And here's a kiln packing drawing from one of Michael Cardew's notebooks, after packing wares into his first firing of the kiln on 12th January 1927:
Image courtesy of Matt Grimmitt.
One of Ray's earhenware cider jars. Image courtesy of Matt Grimmitt.
Ray Finch joined the team in 1936 and Cardew left three years later to set up Wenford Bridge Pottery. Ray bought the pottery in 1946 and kept production going with the Tustin brothers. As time went by, Ray expanded production and hired other help. The pottery thrived under Ray's leadership, and many apprentices benefitted from his teaching. He ran the place until, 1979 when his son Mike Finch took the reins. Ray was still potting up until his death in 2011.
Ray Finch stoking the bottle kiln. Image courtesy of John Edgeler of the Winchcombe Archive Collection.
One of Cardew's pots from the bottle kiln. Lovely shape but I'm sure Cardew wasn't happy with the firing of this one! Surprised it made it and survives! Image courtesy of Matt Grimmitt.
The bottle kiln has not been in use for a while. It was reportedly tricky to fire and Cardew famously would open the kiln up and break pots straight out of the kiln, unhappy with the results. Many lovely pots came out, but it seems that the loss rate was heavy. Ray tried to adapt the kiln in the 1940s, changing the brick chequer to a muffle inside, and putting in a bag wall. Unfortunately, this did not do enough to improve results, and a smaller separate kiln was constructed. This move coincided with Ray moving the pottery from slipware to stoneware. The bottle kiln was not suited for firing pots to higher stoneware temperatures. The final firing of the bottle kiln was in 1954.
One of Elijah Comfort's flower pots, and a lovely jug made by Ray Finch. Image courtesy of Matt Grimmitt.
One of the fireboxes. Image courtesy of Dan Finnegan.
Iron clasp detail. Image courtesy of Dan Finnegan.
So many fabulous pots have been fired in the old bottle kiln, not to mention the bricks, tiles and pipes from the early days. But the kiln is now in need of restoration and could use your help. Here's a link to the just giving page where you can support the project. The first step in this process of restoration has already begun; getting the kiln properly scanned in March.
Oliver Kent and David Dawson, along with the help of Bill Stebbing of Scan to PLAN did a full 3D laser scan of the kiln. The images are pretty amazing. I'll lay out a few here but if you want to see more and read the full post by Oliver its here. And if you really can't get enough of bottle kiln discussion, here's a pretty academic piece by Oliver and David, all about the origins of different bottle kiln designs across Britain.
Scan of the Winchcombe Pottery bottle kiln, ivy and all! Image courtesy of Bill Stebbing.
View of one of the Winchcombe Pottery bottle kiln fireboxes. Image courtesy of Bill Stebbing.
View of the lower floor plan of the Winchcombe Pottery bottle kiln. Image courtesy of Bill Stebbing.
View of the Winchcombe Pottery bottle kiln from above. You can clearly see the foundation of the building that housed the kiln. Image courtesy of Bill Stebbing.
There is also a five-minute fly through video on youtube which takes you around the whole kiln using these 3D images.
The current team, plus Pat Groom (who worked at the pottery from 1947-54). Matt Grimmitt on the left (who manages the pottery now -- and is Elijah Comfort's great great grandson!), Pat Groom, Joseph Frank Fuller, and John Foster on the right. Image courtesy of Matt Grimmitt.
Using these images as a starting point, it is easier to see how much work the kiln needs. The plan is to carefully replace some of the original brickwork and lime mortar pointing to make the structure safe and secure. The work requires scaffolding and a skilled team of sympathetic builders.
As Matt Grimmitt, current manager at the pottery, writes on the restoration page, "this kiln represents a crossover between two worlds and the end of one industry being the country Potteries and the beginning of studio pottery as we know it today." I hope you agree that it is worthy of restoration and consider making a donation! Here's the link again.
One final picture to end on. I asked Matt Grimmitt for some pictures of pots fired in the bottle kiln. This one is in his personal collection, as you might be able to tell from the can of baked beans. This pancheon was thrown by Elijah Comfort and decorated by Michael Cardew. I love the strong form, rich quality of the lead glaze and fluidity of the wet slip combing. There is a lot right about this pot. I would eat baked beans out of it anyday. Screw the minor risk of lead poisoning.
Image courtesy of Matt Grimmitt.
Pots and Skeletons in the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave, Belize.
A visit into the deep, dark ATM Cave in Western Belize near San Ignacio. All about our adventure seeing the archeological artefacts, skeletons, pottery and incredible stalactites and stalagmites of the cave.
Lauren and I recently went to Belize for two weeks. I was surprised by the wild mix of cultures there—I encourage you to read about the country's history here. Belize today has Creole, Maya, Garifuna, and Mestizo cultures; there are also Mennonites who are of German descent. Every bus we went on blared out a mixture of reggae and calypso music. The staple food is rice and beans with Jamaican style jerk chicken (we ate this a lot). Queen Elizabeth II is still the symbolic head of state, and sits on the currency, but Belize became an independent nation in 1981. The people we met seemed grateful for Britain's continued involvement, especially in fending off the Guatemalan government's threats (it has been trying to claim Belize since its independence).
Photo credit: https://letsgetdealstoday.com/actun-tunichil-muknal-cave-a-journey-into-an-ancient-mayan-underworld/
On May 12 (Lauren's 29th birthday, no less) we decided to go underground, into the depths of the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave in Western Belize, near San Ignacio. Actun Tunichil Muknal translates as "Cave of the Stone Sepulcher." If you are thinking about Indiana Jones already, then just wait. The ATM is an hour's drive from San Ignacio, or 45 minutes from a fabulous hostel we stayed at called Lower Dover (hands down the best place we stayed and tastiest meals we had on our trip). You pass through a small village called "Tea Kettle" on the way, which made me inordinately happy. Once you park up, it's about an hour trek through the jungle, including two rivers which you have to swim across. This means that you can only access the cave certain times of the year. We saw several snake tracks crisscrossing the trail en route, as well as a massive tarantula in a tree hollow.
Photo credit: http://discovermagazine.com
Once we reached the cave mouth, there was a last opportunity to pee and soak up a little Vitamin D before plunging into the turquoise waters. Once inside the initial opening, you are mostly wading though knee to chest-deep water all the way through the cave (thankfully the water wasn't too cold). I found all of these pictures on the internet by the way, as we weren't allowed cameras in the cave. For good reason, I might add—in 2012 an ancient skull was broken by a tourist dropping his camera on it.
Photo credit: https://www.cahalpech.com/blog/5-weird-facts-about-actun-tunichil-muknal-cave/
Photo credit: http://www.vengavalevamos.com/atm-cave-belize-maya-mysteries/
The cave was rediscovered in 1989, and opened to the public in 1998, although archeological research continued until 2003. Our guide told us that for the Mayan people, caves were seen as a liminal space between life and death, an underworld. You can believe it when you see the gigantic stalactites hanging from the ceilings, bigger than most church organs. We know now how these were formed—through the slow process of calcium carbonate eroding from limestone above and dripping down into the cave below. But to people hundreds of years ago, these structures must have seemed supernatural.
Photo credit: http://resort-blog.grandcaribebelize.com/wp-content/uploads/ATM-Caves-3.jpg
Photo credit: http://discovermagazine.com/2014/dec/15-cave-of-the-crystal-maiden
At a certain point, after swimming, scrambling, and squeezing your way deep in the cave, (over 3km) you get to a large boulder and steep ledge (pictured on the right). Our guide helped us climb over it, into the entrance to the inner cavern, where the majority of the archeological finds have been made.
We were instructed to leave our shoes behind, before entering a vast chamber. The room felt like a great hall, or a cathedral, and led into several other large chambers. As we walked through, our guide pointed out the multitude of human bones scattered around.
The cathedral is pictured below. You can see how the water has flown through the chamber, forming the undulating pattern on the floor. We were told to walk on the ridges as these are harder deposits of calcium carbonate, and the troughs between them are where many artefacts have been found.
Photo credit:http://discovermagazine.com/2014/dec/15-cave-of-the-crystal-maiden
Photo credit: https://www.cahalpech.com
Photo credit: https://barefootservicesbelize.com/atm-cave-in-belize/
We know that human sacrifices were performed in the cave. Fourteen complete skeletons have been found to date; seven adults and seven children, and many more partial remains. Most were killed with blunt blows to the head. It is believed that these were ritualistic killings performed in an attempt to please the gods during a particularly brutal drought. Geologists have found that there was a 60-year period preceding 811AD during which almost no rain fell in the region. It's estimated that Belize had a population of about two million people prior to that time; now, it has fewer than 400,000. The landscape was likely much more deforested than it is today, and geologists surmise this may have had an impact on the sudden lack of rainfall. A more detailed discussion of this history can be found here.
Whilst other factors such as disease could have been involved, the severe drought was likely the main cause of the collapse of the Mayan civilisation. Imagine entering the cave during that time to find water still percolating through the ceiling and dripping all around. You can see why they equated the cave with a life-giving force.
One particularly gruesome skeleton is the "crystal maiden"; she was an 18-year-old whose heart was removed (or at least that's what it seems like as two of her vertebrates are broken apart). Over time, she has become covered in beautiful, fine sparkling calcium carbonate deposits. This photo doesn't do it justice. I couldn't help but think of Indiana Jones in there—it was surreal, and there are few barriers between you as a tourist and these crystalline bones.
Photo credit: www.jmbelizetravel.com
Photo credit: tripadvisor
Whilst these skeletons are hard to accurately date, we do have other human evidence left behind. Pots! Of course! Only a fool goes wading into the depths of the earth without a picnic. I had heard before we went that there were pots down in the cave, and that was a main reason for going, but I was not prepared for the amount of pots or the scale of them. There were shards of pots all over the main hall, I'm not exaggerating. Archeologists have found and cataloged over 14,000 artefacts down there. They have been dated to between AD250-909, mostly in the latter end of that age range. This supports the hypothesis of links between the drought and ritual use of the cave as the Mayan civilisation was collapsing.
Mostly the pots were in clusters, around the sooty remnants of fire pits and fireplaces in the large chambers. It almost seemed like campsites left by unruly teenagers, empty beer bottles strewn around for someone else to clear up.
Photo credit: http://www.duplooys.com/caves/
Photo credit: https://internationalliving.com/stalactites-and-skeletons-in-belizes-mayan-underworld/
I was fascinated by the pots, not least because of the size of some of them, and how thin the wall thickness of many of them were. They are really nicely made—wood fired, earthenware pots. Archeologists have tested them and found residues of food on the insides.
Having barely scraped my way into the cave, I can't imagine how they got these pots full of corn or rice or other supplies into the cave in one piece.
Photo credit: www.jmbelizetravel.com/actun-tunichil-muknal.html
Quite a few of the pots were complete and in very good condition. We saw them placed all around the chamber, often underneath stalactites, presumably to collect water. We tried some of this water at one spot (upon our guides suggestion) and found it quite delicious—filtered through the earth and limestone.
Photo credit: www.dontforgettomove.com/exploring-atm-caves-in-belize/
Many of the pots appear to have been intentionally broken and are marked with "kill holes," suggesting that they were used in sacrificial rituals, too. Here is an article about kill holes—basically they are pots with intentionally pierced holes in them, though we're not entirely sure why. It would seem silly to me to carefully juggle pots and a lit torch into the depths of the cave, only to smash them, but hey, I'm a potter and not a shaman.
I couldn't believe we were allowed to be so close to the artefacts. Unscrupulous individuals could easily take pieces of pots out without anyone noticing. Our guide told us of one person he took in who came out rattling, pockets filled with shards. They need a better protection policy.
Look at the beautiful surface and rim on this pot:
Photo credit-Kate Brunton: http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/photos/2338436/
Photo credit: www.islandexpeditions.com/belize-vacations-blog/5-highlights-ultimate-adventure-trip-belize
Most of the pots were large, round storage and cooking vessels but there were a few other shapes around, too, such as these bowls:
Photo credit: www.cahalpech.com
Photo credit: https://eternalarrival.com/travel-blog/north-america/belize/atm-cave-actun-tunichil-muknal/
Possibly the most curious pot in the cave is this one (to the right and below). This monkey decoration has only been found on four pots, located at various sites across Central America.
I was not able to find much information about these monkey vessels—if anyone knows, let me know!
Well, that's all for now. We got out of the cave alive, dried off, and had a delicious lunch of rice, beans, salad, and plantains. Hope you can sleep tonight!