Cove Potteries and Claypits

Reply by Arthur E. Lunn

Author of Our Hampshire Cove, Recollections of village life and speculations on the origins of Cove first published by Footmark Publications 1995, and other books about Cove, Hampshire

Before starting on the main stuff I'd like to answer a couple of bits from your (question), you queried the name of Claycart Bridge having some connection with bringing clay from Farnham. It seems more likely the clay was carted down Claycart Bottom' from a still existing flooded pit, called the 'Horse Pond' near Ceasars Camp and was for lining the canal when originally dug through the porous sandy soil.

And the clay from Cove Common was not red, before firing it was and still is, a dull yellow

History of three potteries within the Tower Hill triangle, Yeomans Cove Green Potters, Tower Hill Potters and probably one on site of present Queens Head pub, it is possible that these produced the bulk of all Red Border Ware

Map No 1: Tower Hill Pottery (mailed to PJT)

The property known as Hill House Pottery was purchased by my maternal grandfather in 1900, turned into a nursery and remained so until the death of the last of his sons, Edwin (Ted) Hill in the late 70s.

The house, in background of enclosed photos, was obviously built by the potter for his own use, as in the brickwork was the occasional glazed brick, not for decoration but picked up and reused from the kiln. Date of building uncertain but a nearby and almost identical farmhouse is dated 1791. In the same photos is an older and smaller house, most likely the original dwelling, for a well was conveniently placed within a few paces, but some distance from the 'new' back door. When this site was levelled for road widening in the l970s, what had been the original floor was a foot deep with discarded pottery

Note the large felled oak, can't have been moved far from its original position which would have placed it right in the middle of the potters work space. Is there any history, apart from the 'village blacksmith' of large shady trees used in this way. Within living memory a similar oak stood in the next door pottery, Yeomans, Cove Green.

A well for potters use? on Map No]. a well is shown near the work places, this is clear on a larger plan and shows a path from the supposed 'Queens Head pottery' as if this well was used by workers rather than the one near house. Eighty years ago I stood with Uncle Ted by the scullery door, facing east, he said "there was once an old well over there" but I never saw it so can only assume it must have been filled in,

most likely with wasters, by the last potter. A potential archaeological gold mine

Map No 2: Cove Brickfield

The source of clay was from pits on Cove Common, still visible within living memory, samples of this clay have been given to various local potters. One of these, Farnboro' 6th Form College, the Ceramics Tutor and class are attempting to re-produce the centuries old ware

In the 20s and 30s the layout of these pits where still obvious, named 'brick fields' because bricks had been kilned on spot, clay for pots and tiles carted up to the village. Area shown as marshy varied from flooded open pits, about l5ft square and 8-l0ft deep, to simply depressions in the ground. Dug round the edge of field, the oldest in 3s or 4s with narrow paths for 'barrowing' and the more recent, at least 70yrs old, as single pits. Would it be be possibly to calculate dates from the volume of clay removed?.

There were signs of possible even older digging in the 'Three Cornered Wood', small shallow pits, but this could

have been Cove villagers exercising their 'commoners rights' to extract clay for 'wattle and daub' houses. One of which existed to within living memory.

It is my aim to prove that the one and only source of clay for Red Border Ware came from these pits on Cove Common and that the main centre of production through the l6th to l9th centuries were the three kilns on Tower Hill

It has been agreed with both Slough Estates and TAG Flying who have both built above the clay bearing area that they will, in future, save examples of any core drilling. This would confirm extent and thickness of seam

Other questions, someone has mentioned a Michael Hughes at Holloway College, who is doing ICP? tests on Border Ware, mean anything to you?. Possible local interest, solar alignment on Yateley Common and prehistoric stones under Eversley and Yateley churches see 'WWW. sarsen-org' on Google or Yahoo

Note from PJT: we will have a go a putting the photographs on another site and a link to them.

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