Saturday 19 June 2010

The Pottery Ponds

I had heard about The Pottery Ponds and Waterloo Kiln, and I had driven past it a million times, but on this wonderful summer evening, hubby and I decided to pull into the car park and have a gander.





All I can say is WOW!!!! This is all that remains now of the potteries that made the now very collectible Rockingham Pottery. If you have any Rockingham Pottery, apparently its worth much more than a substantial lottery win.



The only remaining kiln is in surprisingly good condition. It has been used as an isolation hospital and a house since it stopped making pottery.



You can't get inside, but you can see inside - Its a bit like a tardis, it looks smaller on the outside than it does from the inside.


So once again, I have found another fascinating piece of history 5 minutes away from my house!






As we drove back home, we decided to stop and have a walk through Wentworth park, past Wentworth Woodhouse as it was such a beautiful evening.



The house is splendid and takes my breath away every time I walk by it. I have only managed to get in once. A while back, it was a teacher training college, and they held a Craft Fair in the entrance hall. These days, it is owned (on a short lease I believe) by a recluse who lives in it with his impressive art collection. The only people he has apparently allowed to visit is The Georgian Society, my pal and I have considered joining them as we would LOVE a tour.




It was a lovely evening stroll.

8 comments:

Rebecca said...

what a lovely walk, just wanted to let you know that the cards bits that you sent me have been put to good use and inspiring me. Sent a few handmade cards and T is currently making a fathers' day card x

BadPenny said...

That Kilm is beautiful. Have you ever visited Penmon Priory & Dovecot on Anglesey ? Mum lived closeby. It's lovely & I think you'd like it there.
Join the society then you can peep inside that wonderful house & then show us !

menopausalmusing said...

WOW! that kiln!!!!! Wouldnt it make a wonderful house? Made me go all starry eyed and dreamy....

Lazylol said...

Wow, what a stunning place :)

John Going Gently said...

thanks for you comment on the blog! good to see you still read it!
we lived in hillsborough, and I miss it dearly but although the people generally are more friendly over in south yorkshire...the opportunity of being part of the community was lessened by the size of the place
johnx

Lisa said...

If you joined the society I bet you'd find even more places to visit and share wth us!
I reckon i could make bunting, like you say it's pretty straight forward, but Ii don't have much in the way of fabric. I think I'll start looking out at jumbles for siutable items.
Lisa x

Rosie said...

It's great to see a bottle kiln in such a lovely setting. I love to see the different shapes of them - the ones round here are different to that one and those in Shropshire and South Derbyshire. Oh to see inside that lovely house! Thanks for the tour:)

Scented Sweetpeas said...

Wow what wonderful places! I would love to be a recluse in that house :-)