Richard Batterham – Master Potter

4th December 2025

The Studio Pottery movement emphasised the importance of the individual maker's role, from conception to final product. Studio potter, Richard Batterham (1936-2021), took this philosophy literally, dealing with every step of the making of his pots, from mixing his own clay, to throwing and glazing and firing in the kiln, dedicating a lifetime to his craft.

Richard once commented that you cannot; "inject the art" at the end of making a pot, but rather, "art evolves from the new clay right, through all the stages of making".

Richard Batterham (1936 – 2021) was one of Britain's leading throwers of stoneware pottery in the Leach tradition. Richard started making pots aged 13 and joined the Bernard Leach Pottery in St. Ives in 1957 for a two-year apprenticeship. There, Batterham met his wife Dinah Dunn (1930–2007) who had been working as a potter with Leach for number of years. In 1959, the couple left Cornwall for Richard to set up his own pottery at his home in Durweston, Dorset. Initially, he set up a wheel in the main house, building a kiln at the end of the garden. His first solo exhibition was held in 1965 at the Crafts Centre of Great Britain (now Contemporary Applied Arts) in Hay Hill, London.

In 1966, Richard established a larger, purpose-built premises across the road from his home. From Dorset he worked independently for over 60 years, cultivating an instantly recognisable family of forms. He produced hundreds of pots every year and wrote meticulous lists of everything he made, driven by a sense that had been, "chosen to do it". His work is easily identifiable, sparingly decorated, other than with simple chattering bands or cut sides and his pieces are rarely signed. Batterham’s ambition was driven by a desire to refine his processes of making, producing pots, some of which would ‘sing’ to him.

20th Design specialist Max Fisher, said: “Richard Batterham was one of the most important British potters of the last century. His work is quiet yet utterly authoritative, the product of total commitment, technical brilliance and a lifelong belief in the integrity of craft. To handle a Batterham pot is to feel the clarity of a life devoted to clay.”

A retrospective exhibition titled, Richard Batterham: Studio Potter ran at the Victoria & Albert Museum from 26 November 2021 to 30 October 2022. Works from the artist’s estate have been sold at Woolley and Wallis since 2021 and, the upcoming British Art Pottery sale on 10^th December includes thirty-six lots (lot nos. 331-367) from the potter’s own studio.