Leach Pottery Museum Gets a Stunning Makeover with New Interactive Gallery

The Leach Pottery museum in St Ives, Cornwall, has started a major restoration project that will last for a year. This historic museum, founded by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada in 1920, is well-known for its role in the world of ceramics. The restoration aims to improve the museum experience for visitors and allow them to see important pottery pieces from around the globe.

A new gallery is being built as part of the project. This gallery will display ceramics from famous collections, including the Tate, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Centre of Ceramic Art in York. According to museum director Libby Buckley, the new space is designed to welcome everyone, from professional pottery experts to people who are just discovering ceramics for the first time. The museum wants to make learning about pottery accessible and interesting for all ages and backgrounds.

One of the highlights of the restoration is that visitors will be able to follow the entire pottery-making process, from raw clay to finished pot. The museum features climbing kilns, which look like brick sheds with open doors, where pots are placed on shelves ready to be fired. Ms Buckley explained that the new gallery will also share stories and memories from people who have lived and worked at the Leach Pottery, as well as from others around the world. The museum and its volunteers have been collecting these first-hand accounts to help visitors connect with the history and culture of ceramics.

In addition to viewing pottery, visitors will have the chance to handle ceramics, watch demonstrations, and even make their own clay creations in the restored museum. The renovation is part of a larger two-year project, which will also include a new learning and production center set to open in early 2026. Funding for the restoration has come from several sources, including the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England's MEND fund, the Wolfston Foundation, and the Headley Trust.

The museum is excited to share its collection and the stories behind the art with more people. There are also displays of tiles with different designs, such as plants, flowers, and houses, which show the creativity and skill involved in pottery. Visitors can watch artists shape wet clay and see how it is transformed into beautiful objects. The Leach Pottery museum hopes that the restoration will inspire visitors to appreciate ceramics and maybe even try making pottery themselves.