Old LeighStudios

Old Leigh Studios occupies a shopfront on the High Street in Old Leigh, where ceramicist Richard Baxter has worked since the gallery was established in 1991 alongside fellow artist Sheila Appleton. Baxter throws and glazes pottery on site, selling finished pieces alongside paintings and prints from other local artists who now show work here, including Ian Smith, Julie O'Sullivan and Joe Spurgeon. The building sits a few steps from the cockle sheds and the water at Old Leigh, in the older fishing quarter separate from the main Leigh-on-Sea shopping streets. Visitors can watch pieces being made at the wheel during open hours, Thursday to Sunday, from half past eleven until five. Baxter takes part in the annual Leigh Art Trail each July, opening the studio for extended hours and demonstrations across the weekend event.