The Potters of ‘Poter Heton’ (Upper Heaton)

During the 13^th and 14^th centuries, a small-scale pottery industry was established in the Upper Heaton area.  Its importance locally, led to the hamlet being known as ‘Poter Heton’. In the Middle Ages, pottery making tended to be a seasonal occupation and a way for peasant farmers to make extra money. Although very much regarded as a low status occupation and craft in those days, Upper Heaton pottery found its way into the homes of both the rich and the poor.

Digging out brown fireclay from outcrops close to Heaton Hall, the potters then mixed it with river sand from Colnebridge and water from a nearby stream. Perhaps as much as 20% of the finished pots would have been made from sand.  The sand helped the clay to dry evenly ready for firing. Uneven drying put stress on a damp pot and led to cracks, as some areas shrank faster than others. This meant the finished pots would have been left to dry in a sheltered spot or workshop rather than being placed outside in the direct sun or wind. Once dry and glazed, the pots were carried to the kilns and fired.

The remains of three kilns were excavated between 1960 and 1962 close to Bog Green Lane in a field belonging to Heaton Hall Farm. It would seem the potters chose the site with some care. Being quite high up, exposed and wind swept, they were trying to get the strongest natural draught to help the firing of their kilns. The kilns were oval shaped with stone walls and built into the ground. They had a flue at either end. The pottery was stacked on the floor of the kiln and then a curved roof was built over the top using interwoven brushwood, rushes, and grass. The underside of this roof was plastered with a sealing layer of clay whilst the top was capped with turf for insolation and protection from the rain. The kilns were fired by burning brushwood from the surrounding woodland.

Three-quarters of a ton of pottery was recovered during the 1960s excavations almost all of which would have been broken, during the firing process, and thrown away. The pieces came from some 2,700 complete vessels, of which 83% were cooking pots. A further 10% were pancheons (mixing bowls often used for making bread), 5% were jugs whilst most of the rest were a mixture of storage jars, dishes, and bowls. Amongst the least common and perhaps bespoke items were skillets, butter pots and a cheese press. However, the potters would seem to have had a clear best seller with just one type of cooking pot making up two-thirds of their production. Some of the excavated pottery came from other potteries, suggesting the Upper Heaton potters were also copying other people’s designs.

The concentration of the Upper Heaton potters on the production of cooking pots reflects the kind of market they served. The local area was thinly populated with most of the people being poor peasant farmers. There were a few wealthy local lords, like the Beaumonts, Hetons, Lascelles and Savilles, but the tax returns from 1279 show that most people in the area did not pay any tax. Using Bog Green Lane, a major thoroughfare in the Middle Ages, the Upper Heaton potters were ideally placed to take advantage of the surrounding local markets.  Between 1253 and 1317, regular markets were established in Almondbury, Emley, Thornhill and Elland. There would also have been some passing trade along Bog Green Lane. Most of the Upper Heaton pottery would have been sold locally, especially when the average household broke at least one pot a week. The more expensive items like glazed jugs seem to have been marketed as far afield as the Yorkshire and Derbyshire Dales. They may have been exchanged for things the potters needed. Lime from the Craven area would have been used as a fertilizer, whilst Galena (lead ore) from Derbyshire was needed to make the potters’ trademark green glaze.

Known today as Upper Heaton Ware, the pottery has been found locally in Kirkheaton, Newsome, Slack, Shepley, Birstall, at Thornhill Hall and at Almondbury Castle. Places further afield include Kirkstall Abbey, Ilkley, Peveril Castle in Castleton, Wortley, Monk Bretton Priory and Sheffield Castle. The most distant finds are all jugs with Grassington and Malham being the furthest locations from the pottery. The latter is 35 miles away. The fact the pottery has been found in castles, monastic sites and medieval halls shows that it was not simply being used by peasants.

When, or why, the Upper Heaton pottery ceased production in the 14^th century is not known. A land deed refers to Upper Heaton being known as ‘Poter Heaton’ in 1314, so it may have been some time after this date. With people in the Middle-Ages leading such precarious existences, there may be a number of reasons why the pottery went out of use, not least being the victims of disease or famine.

A selection of UpperHeaton pottery, along with a reconstruction of one of the kilns, are displayed in the Tolson Museum.

J L

Sources

Medieval Pottery Kilns at Upper Heaton, West Yorkshire by T. G. Manby.

Yorkshire Deeds (for reference to ‘Poter Heton’), Yorkshire Records Series XXXIX

Yorkshire Lay Subsidy (for 1279 Tax Returns), Yorkshire Record Series, XVI.

Huddersfield Examiner 26 Nov 1960

The Tolson Museum, Ravensknowle Park, Moldgreen, Huddersfield

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