Ewenny Pottery

[1] The village of Ewenny is sited above all of the natural resources to make the local red earthenware pottery: clay deposited from the ice age; wood and coal for firing; glaze materials; and stone to build the kilns.

At this time, the number of potteries in the area was at its height, but quickly dwindled due to the onset of cheap enamelware and china imports from the Far East.

[1] In 1883 at the height of the Arts and Crafts movement, Bayswater, London based designer and ceramics dealer Horace W Elliot was visiting country potteries looking for pieces to sell in his showrooms.

David John Jenkins created the technique as he had noticed that thanks to the railways, there were many more visitors travelling into the countryside looking for a unique and original memento of their excursion.

He was however regularly commissioned by ROF Bridgend to make one-off and commemorative pieces, with his son Dai given leave of absence on one occasion from the Royal Air Force to help his father fire the kilns.