Source: the venue’s website, checked on 31/10/2026.
In 1920 Bernard Leach and the Japanese potter Shoji Hamada set up their workshop on the edge of St Ives, in Cornwall. In 1923 they built a large wood-fired climbing kiln there. For more than a century, apprentices have come to learn the craft.
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A charity, the Bernard Leach (St Ives) Trust, runs the pottery. In 2022 the National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded £5,011,982 to its project “The Leach Pottery: the next 100 years”. Since March 2026 groups have been welcomed in new learning and production studios; the museum is being restored throughout 2026.
For a team, the tea bowl workshop takes up to 32 people, with the story of the pottery and a throwing demonstration: £300 for the group, £200 for up to 16. The throwing workshop takes 10. Pieces can be fired, glazed and posted. The little St Ives branch line leaves from St Erth, on the London to Penzance line.
We design and lead a learning expedition that goes through this place. You can also design it yourself with Agent A\lex.
Photos: Bridgit Honoria Scott (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0) ; THOR (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0) ; Jordanhill School D&T Dept (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0) ; Mutney (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0)
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