Pots and potters in Tudor Hampshire: excavations at Farnborough Hill Convent, 1968-72

Abstract

• This book results from a major collaboration between Guildford Museum and MoLAS, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It focuses on the late medieval and Tudor pottery industry of the Surrey-Hampshire borders. One of the most innovative ceramic traditions in southern England is revealed through finds excavated in the grounds of Farnborough Hill Convent. The remains of four pottery kilns and abundant production waste provide a valuable opportunity to re-evaluate a site of great significance in English ceramic history, which played a crucial part in the ‘ceramic revolution’ of the 15th to 16th centuries. This study looks at the wares, forms, potters, technology, influences and trade, presenting new evidence for the reasons behind the industry’s phenomenal growth. The book can be obtained, at a price of £19.95 plus postage, from Guildford Museum: www.guildford.gov.uk/GuildfordWeb/Leisure/GuildfordMuseum/MuseumShop.htm; email museumshop@guildford.gov.uk