18-566: Ewenny Pottery , founded in 1610 in the village of Ewenny , is the oldest working pottery in Wales . The village of Ewenny is sited above all of the natural resources to make the local red earthenware pottery: clay deposited from the ice age; wood and coal for firing; glaze materials; and stone to build the kilns . Since 1427, there have been fifteen potteries in the Ewenny area at one time or another, all small family concerns. The Ewenny Pottery
36-604: A master's degree from the Royal College of Art . The present pottery and showrooms are situated on the site of a former kiln, on the main road through the village of Ewenny. Ewenny Ewenny ( Welsh : Ewenni ) is a village and community (parish) on the River Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales. Over the years the village has grown into the neighbouring village of Corntown to such an extent that there
54-523: Is a small village in the Vale of Glamorgan . It lies along the B4524 road , just outside Bridgend , 21.6 miles (34.8 km) west of the centre of Cardiff . It has grown around Corntown Farm. Chapel Wood frames part of its western side. The Golden Mile Inn lies along the B4524 just to the northeast of the village. Neolithic implements, especially flints, microliths and leaf arrowheads have been unearthed in
72-695: Is no longer a clear boundary between the two. The nearest town of significant size is Bridgend , 2 mi (3.2 km) away. Corntown is within the community. In 1987, scenes from the Doctor Who episode Delta and the Bannermen were filmed in the village. The village grew around the Priory and Church . The Norman church of St. Michael was built in the 12th century by one of the Norman knights of Glamorgan , William de Londres. His son Maurice founded
90-459: Is said that the area is haunted by the Y Ladi Wen or the White Lady ghost . Few details are available about the ghost, but it is generally believed that she committed some terrible misdeed in the past and now her spirit must roam the earth in penance. There is a similar legend associated with Ogmore Castle . As these two locations are within a couple of miles of each other it is likely that
108-566: The Ewenny Pottery from his cousin Edwin II, he invented the classical mottled-glazing technique that is still used by the pottery today. The piece is firstly dipped completely in one glaze, and then splashed with a second glaze. David John Jenkins created the technique as he had noticed that thanks to the railways, there were many more visitors travelling into the countryside looking for a unique and original memento of their excursion. At
126-644: The Jenkins brothers to make. His fleur-de-lys design mark was often applied to Ewenny and other wares, and as a proponent of the Esperanto movement, sometimes inscribed his pots in that language. In the early 1900s, David John Jenkins was born into the family business. After working with his father in the pottery and uncles at the claypits, he married Martha Arthur whose family had owned the Corntown Pottery, with whom he had seven children. After buying
144-468: The Turbervill family. The priory is not open to the public but the attached Church is still in use today. Records show that the pottery industry has existed in the area since 1427. This is probably because the materials required for the production of pottery are readily available in this area, including a local red earthenware, glaze materials, stone to build the kilns and coal to fire the pots in
162-491: The adjacent Benedictine priory in 1141 when he granted the church to the abbey of St. Peter at Gloucester , together with the churches of St Brides Major , St. Michael at Colwinston and the manor at Lampha. The priory is widely regarded as one of the finest fortified religious buildings in Britain . Over the centuries the priory has sustained some damage, but nonetheless it is still inhabited by its current owners,
180-662: The area was at its height, but quickly dwindled due to the onset of cheap enamelware and china imports from the Far East . In 1883 at the height of the Arts and Crafts movement , Bayswater, London based designer and ceramics dealer Horace W Elliot was visiting country potteries looking for pieces to sell in his showrooms. Having struck up a friendship with the Jenkins brothers, he is particularly associated with Ewenny, but also with C.H. Brannam and Bourne Denby . Elliott made annual visits to Eweny until 1913, designing many pieces for
198-462: The area, indicating an early settlement site nearby off Stony Lane. In around the 1610s, Edward Lewis of Van came into property in Corntown. The Wescombe family are associated with Corntown and Ewenny. Over the centuries the village has grown into the nearby village of Ewenny to such an extent that there is no longer a clear boundary between the two. Locally the boundary is taken to be between
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#1732779520816216-538: The business continue, Alun and his wife Jayne started producing pieces in their garage, and then gained a large commission to produce commemorative mugs for the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977. Alun and Jayne Jenkins (7th generation) continue to produce pieces, together with their daughter Caitlin Jenkins (8th generation) who has a degree in ceramics from the University of Wales Institute Cardiff and
234-486: The business. With growth in the business, the partnership could no longer afford to dig its own clay, and so it consolidated to just being a pottery. After the death of David John Jenkins in 1961, the two brothers became co-owners. However, with mass-produced pottery now cheap, the business was in decline. In 1969, Arthur's eldest son Alun had graduated with a degree in Ceramics from Cardiff College of Art . Wishing to see
252-527: The kilns. There have been fifteen potteries in the Ewenny area at one time or another, all small family concerns. The village is home to the Ewenny Pottery , founded in 1610 and the oldest working pottery in Wales. The business is run by the descendants of the pottery's original founders, the Jenkins family. Close to Ewenny Priory is an area of land known as White Lady's meadow and White Lady's Lane. It
270-403: The legends are related, or inspired by each other. The nearby Coed-y-Bwl nature reserve, more locally known as the " Daffodil woods" has around a quarter of a million ‘wild’ daffodils. The reserve was established in 1971 and in 1975 received a Prince of Wales trust award. The daffodils were planted in the early 19th century by Mrs Nicholl of Merthyr Mawr . A Roman bridge is situated near
288-539: The outbreak of World War II , all of his sons were called-up, and he could only fire the kiln when given permission by the Air Raid Warden . He was however regularly commissioned by ROF Bridgend to make one-off and commemorative pieces, with his son Dai given leave of absence on one occasion from the Royal Air Force to help his father fire the kilns. Post the war, and only Dai and Arthur returned to
306-548: The reserve. Ewenny has a community council which elects or co-opts eight community councillors. Until 2022 the community was part of the county ward of Llandow/Ewenny for elections to the Vale of Glamorgan Council . It was transferred to the St Brides Major ward as a result of recommendations from the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales . Corntown Corntown ( Welsh : Corntwn )
324-423: Was founded in 1610, probably by farmers in the area looking to make commercial use of the clay. In the early 1800s Evan Jenkins married Mary, the daughter of then owner John Morgan, and so started the Jenkins family period of ownership that continues to this present day. The products at this time would have been mainly for agricultural and local use, plus occasional commissions. At this time, the number of potteries in
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