Ewenny Pottery

Ewenny Pottery has operated in the village of Ewenny near Bridgend since 1610, making it the oldest working pottery in Wales. The Jenkins family has run the pottery since the early 1800s and now works into its eighth generation, with Alun and Jayne Jenkins currently at the wheel alongside their daughter Caitlin, who trained in ceramics at Cardiff and the Royal College of Art. Pots pass through the workshop's hands at least twenty-three times before they are finished, a process that can take up to six weeks from clay to glazed piece. The pottery's mottled glaze, developed by David John Jenkins, is still made by dipping and splashing two glazes so they melt together in the kiln. There are no public classes, but visitors can watch the potters at work and buy pieces directly from the workshop.