The Historic Pottery Industries of South Wales
This year our theme is the historic pottery and porcelain industries of south Wales and will include visits to museums and working potteries. Join us and see some wonderful collections!
Like the summer meeting, this year’s autumn meeting will have a theme, in this case the ceramics industries of south-east Wales from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, featuring in particular the pottery of Ewenny and Llanelly and the pottery and porcelain of Swansea and Nantgarw.
Our base in Bridgend will be the Best Western Premier Heronston Hotel (01656 668811) on Ewenny Road on the outskirts of the town, one and a half miles from Bridgend railway station and near to Junction 35 of the M4. Access to the leisure facilities (pool, gym, sauna) are free to residents as is WiFi, with free parking; there are electric car charging facilities. Twenty rooms have been set aside for us (there are 75 in all) and members should contact the hotel directly saying that they are part of the Cambrian Archaeological Association conference. Please contact the hotel as soon as possible if you wish to book and certainly by two months before the meeting.
Attendees can register from noon on Friday and lunch can be taken at own cost in the bar. After lunch we will visit the nearby Ewenny and Claypits potteries, the excursion being followed by an introduction to the ceramic history of south Wales by Andrew Renton, former Keeper of Art at the National Museum of Wales. Dinner will be followed by a lecture by Jonathan Gray, President of the English Ceramic Circle, on the Arts and Crafts designer Horace Elliott and in particular his work at Ewenny.
On Saturday we will travel by coach to Swansea Museum, where Andrew Green, former head of the National Library of Wales, will address us briefly on the history of the Royal Institution of South Wales (which established this, the first museum in Wales) before we view the multi-disciplinary collections. We will then visit the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery and its excellent collection of ceramics.
Lunch can be had in the several local cafes before we travel to Llanelli and the Parc Howard Museum with its fine collection of Llanelly pottery, and after dinner our former President Dr Mark Redknap will discuss unpublished mediaeval and Tudor pottery from Cardiff.
On Sunday we will visit Nantgarw where we will hear about the history of the site and meet some of the resident makers, and hear from Dr David Higgins about pipe-making at Broseley and the influence of that important factory on south Wales. We will then return to the hotel where attendees may have lunch at their own cost before dispersing.
Cambrian Archaeological Association Autumn Meeting, Bridgend, Vale of Glamorgan
19-21 September 2025
Best Western Heronston Hotel, Ewenny Road, Bridgend, CF35 5AW
With the theme of the ceramics industries of Glamorgan from the Middle Ages to today, the meeting will look both at the historical porcelains of Swansea and Nantgarw and the less exclusive pottery products of Swansea, Llanelly, Ewenny and Nantgarw. The visits will be complemented by talks and lectures from recognised experts. We will be based at the Heronston Hotel near Ewenny.
Friday 19 September
12.00 – 14.00 Heronston Hotel. Registration and lunch (own cost) – prior booking with hotel advisable
14.00 Divide into two groups. One group will walk to Ewenny Pottery with introduction to the site and the industry by Caitlin Jenkins; other group at hotel for introduction to the products by Gwyneth Evans. Groups then change over.
17.00 Lecture: ‘An improvement in our national arts’: manufacturing pottery and porcelain in south Wales 1760s – 1920s (Andrew Renton)
18.30 Lecture: Horace Elliott (1851-1938) at Ewenny and beyond (Jonathan Gray)
19.45 Dinner
Saturday 20 September
09.15 Coach to Swansea Museum (introductory talk by Andrew Green)
11.40 Depart by coach to
11.50 Glynn Vivian Art Gallery
13.15 Lunch (own cost at nearby cafes)
14.30 Depart by coach to
15.00 Parc Howard Museum, Llanelli (introductory talk by Robert Pugh)
16.45 Coach leaves for Heronston Hotel
18.30 Lecture: Mediaeval and Tudor ceramics from Cardiff excavations: some old familiars revisited (Mark Redknap)
19.45 Dinner
Sunday 21 September
09.30 Coach to Nantgarw China Works Introduction (Eurwyn Wiliam), coffee and site tour
Lecture: Clay tobacco pipes and pipemakers in south Wales and the influence of Broseley (David Higgins)
13.00: Return to Heronston Hotel Lunch (own cost) and disperse
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Organiser: Eurwyn Wiliam (02920 564406) eurwynwiliam32@gmail.com