Darwen Terracotta Visit

On the 12th March 2026, the ceramics department took a visit to Darwen Terracotta. This company specialises in creating architectural ceramics, which may involve restoration projects or creating contemporary designs for new build projects. They create work for projects all across the globe to some of which include The Royal Albert Hall in London, ‘A House for Essex’, The National History Museum and Blackpool Tower. They also work with artists to bring their creative visions to life, such as Grayson Perry, where they created his ‘House for Essex’.

The company shows the expansive potential of clay and it was incredibly insightful seeing how they pull off these huge projects when touring their factory & workspace. It also demonstrated how a traditional method of making can move with the times and incorporate new technology such as 3D printing and digital architectural scanning devices to help aid the design process.

On top of their architectural work, they also specialise in ‘Thomas Crapper’ sink and basons.

This is where they mix large quantities of glazes

More slip cast items drying- This room was very warm and was full of plaster moulds and freshly slip cast items.

The kiln shelf fully loaded, awaiting the firing. The whole structure moves along the tracks on the floor and just slides right into the kiln.

Glaze tests for their projects- As shown we can see their test pieces for the ‘Shamrock Pub’ and ‘Belgrove Hotel’. These will get sent back to the clients to see if the outcomes fit what their looking for and once signed off, the glaze is produced on a mass scale.

Some really interesting glazes on these tiles!

Some slip cast sinks drying

Slip that has been poured into a plaster mould.

This is the massive kiln! They had a few this size and the door opens out so the work can just slide in on the huge kiln shelves. When finished, the work slides of the other side