Going potty in the garden

Clay has always been a part of Jim Keeling’s life. As a child he dug it from the ditch at the bottom of his garden to use for modelling, and it was an interest that stayed with him through his student days. “I was the only Cambridge undergraduate to take evening classes in pottery,” he recalls with a laugh. It’s no surprise then that today he heads a firm whose pots are found in gardens across the country.

Indeed, the customer list for Whichford Pottery is impressive: Sissinghurst, the Royal Horticultural Society and National Trust gardens, including Hidcote Manor and Hampton Court Palace, to name but a few, while the distinctive terracotta pots have graced Chelsea show gardens, including this year’s entry by Chris Beardshaw, based on Hidcote Manor Garden. Whichford pots are also sold, suitably embellished with the Prince of Wales’ feathers, through the Highgrove shop.

Yet, despite this success, this is no large commercial operation, driven only by the bottom line, but a family firm whose aim is as much about maintaining a traditional craft as making beautiful pots.

“When you buy our pots you’re keeping the local, rural community alive,” Jim explains.

The pottery is set alongside the family home in the tiny village of Whichford, near Shipston-on-Stour, its presence signalled only by a pot-framed sign and plant-filled urns lining the drive.

Jim’s wife, Dominique, and Adam, the eldest of their five children, work with him in the business and the rest of the staff are drawn from Whichford or neighbouring villages. Many have been there for decades and there is a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Staff gather in the pottery’s courtyard garden for morning coffee, while the family’s cat and dogs wander among the display shelves.

Turning raw clay into pots that will last – Whichford’s have a 10-year guarantee – is a necessarily slow, complicated process. It begins with the blending of clays from Blockley, Ironbridge and Reading, following a special Whichford ‘recipe’, the result of rigorous testing.

“If you could find one clay for pots it would be like finding the Holy Grail,” explains Richard Blencowe, who blends the clays. “Mixing three clays gives us everything we’re looking for.”

Their aim is to produce something that is workable, frostproof, porous – which encourages root growth and a patina on the pots – and with the distinctive Whichford orange hue.

You can read the rest of this article in October's issue of Cotswold Life, on sale now.

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