Wetheriggs Pottery is a pottery on the C3047 road, east of the hamlet of Clifton Dykes, in the civil parish of Clifton, Cumbria

Clifton, Cumbria

Clifton is a small linear village and civil parish south east of Penrith in Cumbria, England.-History and geography:The civil parish of Clifton has its western boundary defined by the River Lowther, to the north and east lie the civil parishes of Brougham and Great Strickland, to the south is the...

 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Penrith

Penrith, Cumbria

Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....

. It opened in the mid 19th century providing farm and housewares for local consumption, later the business diversified into craft pottery, and, towards the end of the 20th century became focused as a visitor attraction, and in nature conservation work.

History

The beginnings of the pottery can be traced to 1855 when the site was used for the production of slates and bricks using local clay from Clifton Dykes. Production of pottery began in 1860 when John Schofield and Margaret Thorburn moved to the site from Stepney Bank Pottery in Newcastle. John Schofield died in 1917, and Margaret Thorburn in 1937. The pottery remained in the Schofield and Thorburn family's hands until 1973. It then passed through various owners, and, in the process being given industrial monument status, and having facilities built for visitors including a museum.

The enterprise was provided with fuel (coal) via a siding from the Eden Valley railway line

Eden Valley Railway

The Eden Valley Railway was a railway in Cumbria, England. It ran between Clifton Junction near Penrith and Kirkby Stephen via Appleby-in-Westmorland....

, when the railway closed in 1962 the pottery kiln fell out of use. The beehive kiln remains, as does a blunger

Blunger

A blunger is a machine commonly used in the pottery industry for mixing clay and water. A blunger usually consists of a round or octagonal tank with a mixer. Clay is added to the water filled blunger and then mixed into a slurry, which is also called slip...

 for preparing suitable clay. The steam engine used to drive the pottery machinery was restored in the 1990s by Fred Dibnah

Fred Dibnah

Frederick "Fred" Dibnah MBE , born in Bolton, was an English steeplejack and eccentric with a keen interest in mechanical engineering who became a cult television personality....

. Mary Chappelhow has been the master pottery at Wetheriggs since 2003.

In 2006 an animal rescue and conservation centre opened Wetheriggs Animal Rescue & Conservation Centre, with the ultimate aim of recreating the now extinct Cumberland Pig

Cumberland Pig

The Cumberland Pig was a breed of domestic pig originating in the North of England; it was used to produce local delicacies the Cumberland sausage and Cumberland ham...

.

Further reading

• Wetheriggs Country Pottery detailed description of the working pottery, via www.cumbria-industries.org.uk
• Wetheriggs Pottery: A History and Collectors Guide, Barbara Blenkinship, Spencer Publications, 1998

External links

• Wetheriggs Pottery www.wetheriggs-pottery.co.uk
• Wetheriggs Animal Rescue Centre www.wetheriggsanimalrescue.co.uk