A Collector’s Dream Exhibition
26th October -24th December 2024
The Griselda Hill Pottery Ltd has been making Wemyss Ware® in Ceres, Fife, for nearly forty years, and this exhibition aims to showcase the best of our craftsmanship. We have drawn inspiration from various collections of Wemyss Ware®, some now dispersed and one still in the making. The main influences come from the collections of Iris Fox, George Bellamy and John Garner. A few items, such as the Gambler pigs, are based on original Wemyss Ware® pieces in unknown collections.
Each piece in the exhibition comes with a certificate.
The small team creating Wemyss Ware® consists of Potter Rena Simpson, who has skilfully constructed monocles for pigs and embossed tulip flowers on baluster vases, Elaine Syme, our Head Decorator, Roseanne Hoy, painter, and myself, Griselda Hill. We love doing what we do, and hope this is reflected in the quality of the pottery.
The collectors featured in this exhibition are Iris Fox, George Bellamy and John Garner. They are united by a shared passion for Wemyss Ware®, and are in good company. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Elton John and King Charles, to name but a few, have also collected the beautiful pottery. Its popularity remains undiminished.
I do hope you enjoy browsing our selling exhibition, either in our catalogue, online or in person here in Ceres.
A Collector's Dream Exhibition 2024
A short history of Wemyss Ware® in Ceres
Production of Wemyss Ware®, originally made in Kirkcaldy from 1882 to 1932, and then
in Devon until 1957, returned to Scotland in 1985 when Griselda Hill started her Pottery in Ceres.
Griselda grew up in Cambridge and did a degree in English and Art History. Subsequently she worked as an Art teacher for two years. She had been intrigued with the charm and simplicity of the ware as a child when visiting her grandmother,
who owned a large black and white pig. On moving to Ceres in Fife she realised that it had been made locally, and decided to try making her own version. This proved an immediate success. The first pieces were sold in the shop in Kirkcaldy Galleries, and from then on there was constant demand.
The Pottery acquired the Wemyss® Trade Mark in 1994. Esther Weeks, who had worked
in the Wemyss® Studio in Bovey Tracey in the mid-twentieth century, visited the Ceres Pottery annually from 1995 for over fifteen years to train staff and help with production.
The Pottery’s reputation has gone from strength to strength. In recent years several commemorative pieces have been created for the Royal family. Next year, its fortieth anniversary, promises to be a busy one with several celebratory events planned.
We Are Wemyss Ware
The ‘Wemyss Ware’® name has had a long and distinguished history from its beginning in 1882. It was the brainchild of Robert Heron, the Pottery owner, and Karel Nekola, a gifted decorator whom he had brought over from Bohemia. It is probably the most highly collectable and sought-after Scottish pottery, producing beautifully hand painted pottery cats, pigs, other animals, giftware, decorative tableware, tiles and limited editions, all made in Scotland.
At the Griselda Hill Pottery Ltd. we are proud that we are the only creators of Wemyss Ware. We love what we do and do what we love!
Tableware
Griselda's Story
'I first became interested in Wemyss Ware® as a child when I visited my grandparents’ house. There, in the hearth, sat a large black and white pig, somewhat the worse for wear but full of character. Twenty years later when I moved to Fife I saw a similar version in Kirkcaldy Museum, and started to put two and two together. I would have loved to own one to remind me of my grandmother, but even in the 1980s a Wemyss® pig cost £2000, way beyond my budget. I came up with the idea of making one and then thought perhaps other people might want a more affordable version of the famous pottery. I approached the curator of Kirkcaldy Museum, who agreed to sell my ‘new Wemyss’ in the museum shop, and that was the start of it all!'