The one-handed potter proving traditional quality prevails

A haven from the madness

Ingleton Pottery, nestled beneath the Grade II listed viaduct in the Dales town of the same name, is Dick’s empire. And it remained a welcoming haven from the madness of Covid for he and wife Jill. “We were pretty untouched by it here. I walked the dog on the Dales and kept making pots and mugs even though we had boxes and boxes backing up in our storeroom. Basically, I had too much time on my hands."

But there was a method and true belief in his product in the Wigan School of Art graduate’s madness. Within weeks of lockdown easing his small shop was packed and – his words – “we sold the bloody lot”. The gamble that reverberated in his mind each time he expertly slammed and centred another hunk of clay on to the wheel had paid off.

Cabin fever saved our business

“People from all over the country flocked here as soon as the restrictions eased. They had cabin fever and were desperate to get out into the countryside and take a memento of their rediscovered freedom home,” he says.

Dick's approach to Covid’s challenges was similar to the one he’s adopted throughout his colourful career since he “blew his hand off” aged 13 playing with a homemade firework. “It’s not bothered me because I’ve never made pots with two hands. It’s all in your head. If you let things bother you, they will,” he adds.

In fact, Dick holds a refreshingly uncomplicated and delightfully frank view on most things, from pricing policy to the assertion that what he does is art: “I’m not an artist, I’m an artisan and rather than charging the ludicrous amounts some well-known pottery firms charge, I’d rather keep prices down and sell it than keep dusting it.”

Energy costs will mean price rises

That’s where the next hurdle awaits for his Aladdin’s cave workshop and its two kilns that high fire the hand-thrown 50 mugs he can make a day. The soaring cost of electricity will mean a reluctant price rise for his customers captivated by seeing him at his potter’s wheel from a shop counter gouged by repeated demonstrations of how tough his products are.

Dick, who has operated out of the derelict tannery for four decades, believes the growth in home-grown tourism is good news for grantors keen to take a gamble with diversification.

Traditional Yorkshire wares

He adds: “A few years back I said tourism in this area was on the wane, but since the pandemic we're seeing more and more people leaving the cities to come here to live or visit. That has its upsides and downsides.

“The plus is that they often want to take something traditional from Yorkshire home with them and, as one of the most viewed potteries on the internet, they come here.”

Much of that is down to the YouTube tutorials run by his son, Dan, who has grown the Ingleton Pottery channel from 270,000 to nearly half a million subscribers.

Strong enough to support a car

The internet phenomenon is all a bit of a mystery to Dick, whose hand-crafted mugs, vases, tankards, wine goblets, casserole dishes, honey pots and cremation urns are heated to 1300˚C and vitrified to remove water. That, he assures us, forces the clay particles to bond more tightly and, in turn, makes the finished product strong enough to support a car. And yes, he’s tried it.

Dick, who lists English Heritage among his customers, is proud of his homely, messy workshop that smells of the ancient seat earth clay hailing from between Staffordshire’s coal seams.

“It fills me with immense pride that I have a craft and artistic bent that very few people have nowadays. It’s definitely a good feeling to be skilled at something that few other people can do,” he adds.

Images: © Roy Kilcullen