Coxwold Pottery

The Coxwold Pottery, based in the village of Coxwold, North Yorkshire, was started by Peter Dick and Jill Dick in 1965. This followed Peter working at the Winchcombe Pottery in the Cotswolds, where he met Jill. The Pottery closed in 2012.
Through many years they produced a distinctive style of slipware decorated pottery. It might be best described as being in the rural, ethnic, tradition aimed at practical use, although they did produce many decorative large plates or platters. It was quite heavily potted, as befits the medium, and the decoration was generally applied very freely.
They were unusual in that most of their pottery was produced in a wood fired kiln, a method that Peter Dick had observed while working with his mentor, Michael Cardew, in Abuja Nigeria from 1961 to 1962. Though hugely labour intensive, needing an all-night firing, the ash from the kiln landing on the pottery gave the glaze a mottled effect to the largely brown to yellow glazes.
While very much in the van of the post WW2 Studio Pottery movement, Peter and Jill seemed to prefer a low key approach, perhaps explaining why they have not received the accolades given to others in the Studio Pottery world. The popularity of the pottery however can be gauged from the many pieces available through auction sites and dealers.
The Pottery was just off the Oulston Road in Coxwold, based in some quite ancient outbuildings. The Pottery closed in 2012, following the death of Peter Dick. An article by Peter, reminiscing on his experiences in Abuja with other background information, appeared in Interpreting Ceramics, Issue 3.

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