The 8th Gerald Dunning Memorial Lecture: The Continuing Tradition

The study of medieval pottery from mainly archaeological evidence can restrict the understanding of its manufacture, development and use. In order to widen the horizons of pottery research, and to suggest areas for further study, a survey of all the apprentice-trained producers of hand-made traditional pottery was carried out in the 1960s. The detailed working practices of these potters have already been published elsewhere, but here they are discussed in general, overall terms, commencing with clay preparation and throwing techniques. Those factors which govern the size and shape of the wares, including manufacturing requirements, load-bearing capacities, ergonomic considerations, and the need to serve distinct practical purposes are then discussed. The effects of different fuels and firing conditions are also considered, and, finally, the potters, methods of transport and trading, to demonstrate some of the human elements in their industry which archaeology could never reveal.