Monument record MDO6198 - Verwood Pottery kiln site, Verwood

Possible site of a pottery kiln near Shard Close, Verwood, located by the Verwood and District Potteries Trust. Traces of structures, identified as possible workshops associated with some of the Verwood Pottery kilns, were identified during an evaluation adjacent to 76, Ringwood Road in 1995. Late 19th-century pottery was also recorded.

Verwood 4 (Moor Lodge), a pottery kiln at Black Hill, part of the Verwood Potteries, tenanted by James Bailey in 1847. The family involvement continued with Samuel Bailey until 1914 when the kiln was closed. Excavations were carried out by Young (site 4) at SU 094088 prior to demolition to recover the plan of the kiln. <3>

<1> Algar D, Light A and Trehane P, 1979, The Verwood & District Potteries (Monograph). SDO12592.

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1981, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1979, 103-120 (Serial). SDO79.

<3> Algar D, Light A and Copland-Griffiths, P, 1987, The Verwood & District Potteries. A Dorset Industry, 31 (Monograph). SDO12825.

<4> Spoerry, P, 1988, Documentary and other evidence for medieval and post-medieval ceramic production in Dorset. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 29-35 (Article in serial). SWX809.

<5> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1989, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1988, 29-35 (Serial). SDO88.

<6> Cox, P and Robinson, S, 1995, An Archaeological Evaluation of a Proposed Residential Development on Land Adjoining 76 Ringwood Road, Verwood, Dorset (Unpublished document). SDO12595.

'This site, at SU095088 appears to relate to the two structures on the 1901 OS map, although the source of their interpretation as kilns is uncertain.
3.4 Comment. There is evidence for at least three buildings on the site, one which was present in 1847 and two which had been constructed between 1847 and 1901. By 1901 the first structure had apparently been demolished. The latter two may be structures related to the pottery industry, and appear to be the structure regarded as a kiln (no. 4) in the Spoerry (1989) study which forms the basis of the SMR entry. … 6. The Finds. Artefacts were only present in Trench 1. … The pottery has been examined by Penny Copland-Griffiths of the Verwood Pottery Trust. The material is wholly of later nineteenth- or early twentieth-century date and includes two sherds which may be wasters (context 104). The assemblage includes two apparently different clay types, but these have not been analysed and cannot be shown to be from different sources.
7. Comments
7.1 The evaluation trenches were unable to reveal positive evidence for former buildings on the site, the presence of which had been suggested by the preliminary assessment. While several subsoil features were present in Trench 1 only a possible post-hole F107 provides any evidence for structures, and any association with other structural features remains unclear.
7.2 The investigation revealed no evidence for kilns or other pottery industry-related activity on the site. The small Verwood pottery assemblage is of note, and the possible waster sherds are not surprising in view of the site’s proximity to the know kiln locations. The assemblage is likely to be broadly contemporaneous with the structures shown on the early maps (Figs. 1 and 2), but in the absence of other supporting evidence it is impossible to show how this ceramic material, the feature within which it was found, or other subsoil deposits may be related to local pottery manufacture.’

<7> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1996, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1995, 126 (Serial). SDO95.

<8> National Record of the Historic Environment, 888745 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1300865 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Mar 15 2024 3:04PM