Welcome to ‘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.

For 30 years since 1985 ‘Wemyss Ware’® has been produced by the Griselda Hill Pottery Ltd® in the Fife village of Ceres, ten miles west of St. Andrews. The Pottery owns the ‘Wemyss Ware’® Trade Mark. It is made and hand painted according to the old tradition of the ware. Each piece is hand painted and unique. The painters, who have all worked at the Pottery for over fifteen years, use a secret technique of painting which has been passed down through generations from the original designer, Karel Nekola.

This website aims to give an overview of the Pottery, and contains sections concerning the history of this legendary ware and its continuing success today. It also shows some of the myriad of designs available. There is also a downloadable brochure which shows more of the range, including our cats, pigs, dogs, rabbits, cockerels, plates, dishes, jugs, tiles and bowls, and the possible designs for each piece. These designs can be personalized to your specification, and how to do this is explained in both website and brochure.

We offer a wide range of ‘Wemyss Ware’ in our Ceres shop, some of which can be seen in our website gallery. A selection of items can also be purchased from our online shop. If you wish to buy a piece of pottery you have seen on the website which is not in the online shop, please do contact us – we will happily make it to order if we do not have it in stock.

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