12/09/2026
This is Stoneware in every sense of the word.
So thought I’d talk a bit about other reasons why I use St Agnes clay. Not just because it’s the most local clay from less than a mile away from my home, or that Bernard Leach used this exact recipe, or that it’s supporting a third generation independent business here in Cornwall…
It’s sometimes full of little stones that managed to escape getting crushed in THE original mill that is still in use now. The clay is dug up at the farm up the road by the grandson who still carries on his grandfathers business, crushed and mixed in the mill onsite, then bagged up into 25kg lots. Depending on where the clay is dug from in the pit, each batch will never be the same. The little stones have escaped through into the bag, I sometimes miss them as I’m wedging or throwing, then they appear in the pot during trimming. Then sometimes I miss them and they present themselves as a black burnt mark through the glaze. As you can see on the cup, it’s burnt through both sides of the wall.
I do get frustrated with it sometimes, then remember that this is part of the local clay and part of the handmade process from the very beginning to the end.
I’ve been collecting a few as you can see. I noticed bits of quartz stone too. Anyway, I’m about to get another 150kg next week, so it will be interesting to see what has slipped through this time.
