John Hudson the Potter
John Hudson has been a great attraction at the Open Days. He is a wonderful character who is not only vastly knowledgable in the field of pottery in general and medieval pottery in particular but is also hugely entertaining for both adults and children alike.
John produces his pottery at his workshop in Mirfield in West Yorkshire. For the Open days he carries out demonstrations using an ancient technique with a Momentum Kickwheel when he will produce any one of a range of objects from a cowboy hat to a chamber pot!
Initially it seemed that the Medieval Pottery coming out of the ground at Mellor could all have been perhaps associated with (possibly drunken) breakages when the Old Vicarage was the medieval Church Inn. John was able to tell us, however, that we had some pretty rare and expensive pieces amongst the collection and identified pieces made by one particular Thomas Toft
He himself now specialises in reproduction pieces and has become a prominent member of the Medieval Pottery Research Group being respected not only for his knowledge of the styles but also of the techniques and the types and sources of materials used
He brings along a selection of his wares for sale and these are also available to purchase through his own website www.hudsonclaypotter.com
