Listed Building record MDR5790 - Brickworks, later Peak Pottery, West Hallam
Type and Period (3)
- BRICKWORKS (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
- POTTERY KILN (Early 20th Century to Unknown - 1922 AD)
- POTTERY WORKS (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
Full Description
Site of old pottery (Peak Pottery), with rare cone and outbuildings. Currently [1971] in very poor condition, buildings used as storage sheds, garaging etc. (1)
West Hallam, High Lane West, Bottle Kiln. On the site of an earlier coal pit the Newdigate estate developed a timber store, nursery and brickyard which was let out to tenants until 1913. Nine years later this was sold by John Derbyshire to become the Peak Pottery of the West Hallam Art & Earthenware Company Ltd. Teapots, vases, dishes and ash-trays were produced in two kilns until the 1940s. The surviving kiln has recently been restored and is now incorporated into a craft pottery. (2)
There is said to have been a pottery here in 1793, supplying earthenware pots used by William Strutt for his fireproof mills at Belper and Milford. It was a brickyard for many years, until it was turned into a pottery in 1922. The company was called the West Hallam Art Pottery Co. Ltd., with a capital of £5,000 and ten employees. The firm was bankrupt in 1930 and a new company was formed, the Peak Pottery Co. Ltd., with £500 capital. The firm closed before 1939, but one kiln is preserved. The original company exhibited in 'Derby Week' at the 1924 Wembley Exhibition, showing attractive coloured glazes, 'Bird Studies' and 'Moonlight Series'. Fireproof culinary ware was also made then. In the 1930s the Peak Pottery made teapots, ash trays, bulb bowls and insulators, in a black mottled glaze; and also stoneware ink bottles. (4)
The pottery at West Hallam (Peak Pottery) is chiefly remembered for being the main source of the 'hollow pots' used by the Strutts in building their cotton mills. There were two bottle kilns still standing when the pottery ceased production in 1933. One kiln was demolished in the 1950s, but the other was saved. In 1983 it was incorporated in to a range of buildings, comprising craft and gift shops, a gallery of contemporary art and a café. (5)
West Mill, Belper, built in 1795 required 35,609 pots as part of the fire protection design; these were supplied by potteries at Smalley Common and West Hallam using Coal Measure mudstones. (6)
Surviving kiln has been restored and incorporated into a craft shop, art gallery and café [2004]. (7)
Sources/Archives (7)
- <1> SDR18918 Unpublished document: County Treasure Recording Form. 10(i).1, with photo.
- <2> SDR6754 Bibliographic reference: Fowkes, D. 1986. Derbyshire Industrial Archaeology - A Gazetteer of Sites. Part II - Borough of Erewash. p 42, p 43 (illust.).
- <3> SDR19335 Photograph: Various sources. SMR Slide Collection.
- <4> SDR19408 Article in serial: Brown, R. 1994. 'Potteries of Derbyshire', Journal of the Northern Ceramic Society. Vol. 11, pp 95-153. p 128.
- <5> SDR19400 Bibliographic reference: Giles, J; Power, G; Smith, M. Naylor, P. editor.. 1999. An Illustrated History of Belper and its Environs. p. 42.
- <6> SDR21446 Unpublished document: Thomas, I (National Stone Centre). 2012. The Lower Derwent Valley: The Exploitation and Use of Historic Building Materials. p 23.
- <7> SDR22140 Bibliographic reference: Fowkes, D (ed.). 2004. Derbyshire Industrial Archaeology: A Gazetteer of Sites, Part I, Borough of High Peak (second edition). p 41.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 434 420 (131m by 122m) Approximate |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | WEST HALLAM, EREWASH, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (1)
- EDR3741
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Jan 26 2024 5:37PM