My final project is focused on the landscape of the Cliviger Gorge, close to where I live, and there is a history of pottery- making here dating back to the 17th Century.
Today’s blog draws on an article in the local newspaper (Oct 2010) by a friend and local historian named Roger Frost. I knew that there was a history of local pottery- making in my locality, as there are land and house names such as “Pot Oven Farm”, “Ovenhole”,” Robin Cross Pottery”, and “Stone Jug Farm”. Examples of this local pottery can be seen on display in Towneley Hall from time to time.
The objects are almost all slipware, usually a brownish red colour and some have white markings which tell us more about the individual pieces or commissions. Cliviger pottery has been made since the early 17th Century, but the oldest known piece, because it is dated, is a loving cup of 1671.
The local industry was on a small scale compared to Stoke-on-Trent standards and lasted until the mid-19th Century when mass production in the West Midlands and elsewhere undermined the local craft industry.
The history of the Cliviger pottery industry is important to those of us who live in the area, as it reminds us of the days before industrialisation when localities had to be self-supporting and sustainable. Cliviger had the coal, the fireclay, the water, and the lead needed to make the glaze.
“There are no remains of the kilns or the blungeing tanks that would have been required and, similarly, it is difficult to spot where water courses have been moved to provide the water needed for the pottery works. It is a little easier to find the areas from which the clay was dug. In fact, I was wondering why a particular piece of land on the Burnley to Todmorden Road was so undulating and almost barren, then I realised it had been used to extract clay.”
Frost, R. Burnley Express, Oct 2020
Although the pieces of Cliviger pottery might not have graced any splendid dining rooms of the local gentry, they were prized possessions of the local folks. I have two splendid examples of bread crocks in my garden which are sprouting shamrock and my grandmother’s kneading bowl continues to give an insight into our past.
Some of the Cliviger Pottery in the Towneley Hall Collection
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