The Visitor Centre at Denby Pottery Village was the meeting point for our guided tour of the factory. Gone are the days of hand made pottery – now huge automated machines turn out thousands of cups, plates, dishes and bowls each day. We stared in wonder at the size and energy of the automated kilns which work 24 /7 – yes even on Christmas Day! There is still some human input and it was an experience to see how skillfully the handles were added to mugs before they were dipped by hand into the glaze.
Tour over we enjoyed a demonstration of teapot making in the traditional manner by potters’ wheel and wonderful hand painting by a skilled artist. We even got to try our hand at making a “Denby Frog” as a momento of our visit. The museum brought back nostalgic memories with patterns of the 60’s and 70’s which had graced our early homes.
A very good lunch at Bournes restaurant and a little retail therapy in the Denby Village shops concluded a great day out.
Cannock and District 