Bideford’s pottery heritage will emerge from the shadows thanks to new funding

The Burton at Bideford has been awarded a grant to transform public access to one of the most important ceramic collections in the South West.

The of £86,500 from The DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund means the museum’s collection of more than 1,000 ceramic works will be moved into a special gallery space on the ground floor as part of its new Ceramic Futures project.

Among them will be many important works that have been stored away for some time due to lack of space to display them.

Bideford’s pottery heritage is central to the town’s identity, with North Devon known as one of England’s most important locations for slipware – a style recognised for its warm glazes and intricate sgraffito designs scratched into white slip over red clay.

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As The Burton celebrates its 75th birthday this year, Ceramic Futures is part of a series of projects that aim to think outside the box and look at how collections can be shared with and used by communities in Torridge, now and in the future.

It will create new accessible resources for schools and community groups and include a space for contemporary commissions, exhibitions and acquisitions that connect The Burton’s historic collections to vital conversations today.

The finished gallery with its ceramic collections is expected to open in spring of next year.

The Burton’s ceramic collections include the RJ Lloyd Collection of North Devon slipware of more than 500 works spanning 300-years and the Christine Halstead Collection of more than 400 pieces of studio ware, providing an insightful introduction to the South West region’s ceramic heritage.

Since 2020 an annual Artist in Residence programme has supported contemporary artists such as Connor Colston, Florence Dwyer and Simon Bayliss to make new work in response to these collections.

Warren Collum, exhibitions and collections manager at The Burton, said: “Receiving this funding is essential to enabling us to present the story of North Devon ceramics with the depth and clarity it deserves.

“Not only will it strengthen our ability to communicate the significance of The Burton’s collections and their place within a wider cultural and historical context. It also provides a valuable opportunity to bring important works out of storage and into public view, ensuring they can be properly seen, studied, and inspire the next generation.”

Harriet Cooper, director at The Burton at Bideford, added: “This exciting gallery improvement is a catalyst for how we can transform our local community’s relationship to our collections, creating a new context to explore the relevance these objects have to life today.

“We aim to celebrate Bideford’s ceramic heritage while also looking to the future and our aspirations to support new acquisitions, ambitious partnerships and creative skills opportunities for young people in the town.”

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