The shop is now open by appointment.
2025 marks the forty-eighth year of the pottery being in Queen Camel.
Enjoy the intensive teaching in the relaxed atmosphere of a modern studio. Learn the timeless skills of the potter and fire pots by the magic of burning wood to 1300 deg C, deep in the Somerset countryside.
Teaching
Weekly Pottery Classes
Weekly Pottery Classes will start in January 2025.
Students will need to commit to a full term at a time, with payment in advance.
Summer school
For 2025 Ridge Pottery will be open to students for week-long pottery courses during the summer
Dates TBC
This site deals mostly with the teaching side of our endeavours and with the production of our pots
I established Ridge Pottery in Queen Camel, Somerset, in 1977, with the aim firstly of making beautiful and useful pots of all kinds and sizes and secondly to continue with the international summer school I had started in Devon. In partnership with Jennie and with the help of many assistants, this quickly became a reality.
From the ground up!
We dig our own clay; our glazes are made from local materials, and we wood-fire our finished stoneware pottery. We are devoted to making good, useable pots, delighting in the timeless skill of working in clay and promoting the fulfilling life of creating with hand, eye and the earth’s materials.
Experimental Yakishimi kiln
This experimental kiln continues Douglas's exploration of his 'Flame over Fire' design principle that he developed some years ago and personified in his two chambered Dora kiln. READ MORE
Helping a little bit in the time of the climate emergency
With the increased concern about climate change, it behooves potters to do their bit. Here at the pottery in Queen Camel, we are now going to stop doing any biscuit firing. This will... READ MORE
Help find the helpers!
In 1972 a participant, seeing how much physical work was involved in running these workshops, offered to stay on and help out and I gratefully accepted. And so the tradition started of students... READ MORE
