Leach Pottery

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The Leach Pottery was founded in 1920 by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada in St Ives, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. The pottery is still in existence although now closed awaiting refurbishment as a working pottery, museum and gallery.

The Leach Pottery was acquired by Penwith District Council in December 2005 and, when it reopens to the public in Spring 2008, will be operated by a Trust dedicated to the memory of Bernard Leach and the Leach pottery which was so influential on generations of studio potters from many countries.

The Construction Phase of the restoration project has now been completed with a new waterfront pottery, which will be officially opened April 2008 The buildings have grown from an old cow/tin-ore shed in the 1800’s to a pottery in the 1920’s when Hamada and Leach first attempted to construct a climbing kiln, (though this one failed and was re-built later) this was the first ever built in the western world, with the addition of a two story cottage built later, on to the lower end of the pottery (the Pottery is built on a steep hill over an ancient river bed), followed by a completely separate cottage at the top of site added by Leach when he married Janet,which was again extended by David Leach in the 60-70’s.