Monument record MDO6202 - Verwood Pottery works at Sandalholme, Margards Lane, Verwood

Pottery works, part of the Verwood Potteries, (Verwood kiln 9), built in the early nineteenth century, and comprising a potter’s house, workshops, drying and firing sheds, storage buildings and a kiln. This works is known to have been owned by Henry Andrews in the 1840s, and continued production until around 1906, while production continued until the 1950s on other sites in the area. The Verwood Pottery industry was established in the sixteenth century, making coarse wares for domestic use. Field investigations in 1987 found most of the buildings in a poor condition and the potter's house had been demolished. The kiln survived as a mound 20 metres in diameter and 3 metres high. Another kiln mound, identified on an Ordnance Survey map of 1888 had been demolished. The site of the pottery kiln is visible as a mound in lidar imagery, it was digitally plotted during the Dorset Stour NMP.

(SU 079082). Sandalholme pottery works dates from the 19th century and was part of the coarse domestic pottery industry which existed in the Cranborne/Verwood area from 16th century until the 1950s. The works at Sandleholme were in production from before 1841 until about 1906. All the buildings were originally of rendered cob and survive mostly in their original state, although some walls have been rebuilt in brick. Remains include the potter's house, workshops, drying and firing sheds and storage sheds, together with a kiln-mound. Investigation of the site, including minor excavations of the kiln, was carried out by Young (site 7) <4>. The site is a rare survival, one of only two remaining from the once extensive pottery industry of East Dorset. Scheduled. <4, 7> Additional bibliography. <2> The Sandalholme Pottery lies neglected and derelict sandwiched between houses of an in-construction development. The potters house has been demolished and while the main range of work-sheds survives (SU 07940829) the roof is partly collapsed and they have been gutted: some at least are post-1988 (OS 1:2500 qv <1>). The kiln-mound (SU 07940826) covers an area some 20.0m in diameter, and rises to a height of 3.0m. The centre has been gutted to accommodate a shed-cum-garage which in part at least seems to be of cob. The mound is densely overgrown and no evidence of the kiln was seen but a trench and terrace on the N side is full of broken pot and presumably marks the site of Young's excavation. A small range of buildings E of the kiln-mound, and a small wash-boiler oven on the E fringe of the mound seem to be domestic structures presumably part of the house. Another pottery with kiln-mound some 150m WNW at SU 07800830, shown on OS 1:2500 1888 <1> has been demolished and build over. Unless this site is being preserved for excavation it is difficult to see any value in its scheduling. A house is being constructed feet from the work-sheds, which are a target for vandalism, and even the Kiln-mound is a doubtfully suitable monument in its present condition. Site needs reappraising. Revised at 1:2500 <8> The pottery works (Verwood 9) (Young's site 3) <4> was owned by Henry Andrews during the 1840s. His family continued to own and produce pottery here until the kiln was closed in c. 1907. <9> A pottery works built in the early nineteenth century, and comprising a potter’s house, workshops, drying and firing sheds, storage buildings and a kiln. This works is known to have been owned by Henry Andrews in the 1840s, and continued production until around 1906, while production continued until the 1950s on other sites in the area. The Verwood Pottery industry was established in the sixteenth century, making coarse wares for domestic use. The site of the pottery kiln is visible as a mound 19m across, in lidar imagery <13>, it was digitally plotted during the Dorset Stour NMP.

Record last edited

Mar 29 2023 3:59PM