Northamptonshire's Leading Open-access Pottery Studio:
Courses
Memberships
Workshops
Taster Sessions
Swanspool Ceramics runs pottery classes (wheel-throwing and hand-building) at our studio located in the pretty village of Castle Ashby in the heart of Northamptonshire. We offer weekly daytime and evening classes, studio memberships, intensive weekends and one-off taster sessions.
07/09/2026
We are often asked how we deal with our left-over/waste clay…
First, we dry out what’s known as ‘slop’ (wet clay) on a plaster slab: the plaster absorbs moisture from the wet clay to a point where we can peel the clay off the slab and put it in our ‘pugmill’ (a machine much like an industrial sausage-maker!), which mixes and de-airs the clay before expelling it in logs… which can then be used again 🙂
06/09/2026
A vibrant set of bowls on our very tactile Lavafleck clay…. Nice work, Jamie 👏
05/09/2026
Our next session of beginners’ wheel-throwing courses starts very soon… just a week or so away now 🙂
- No experience needed
- INCLUSIVE studio membership with your course - come and practise!
- Firing and glazes included
- A supportive community of fellow potters!
04/09/2026
Beautiful casserole dish ready for a hearty autumn stew… all round to yours for dinner, Andy?!
03/09/2026
Roll up, roll up…
We’re holding an Open Studio on Sunday, 20 September at The Depot in Weedon Bec 🎉
We have a wheel-throwing taster session running 10.30-12.30 (spaces bookable via our website) and our members & students will be selling their work at our Makers’ Market.
Refreshments (tea, coffee, homemade cakes) will be available.
And if you fancy decorating your own pot we will be running a drop-in paint-a-pot session throughout the day.
Come and see us!
02/09/2026
A stunning bowl out of the Castle Ashby kiln… great work, Cathryn!
01/09/2026
Even though the studios are closed, we’re still busy firing members’ work and catching up on studio housekeeping…
31/08/2026
A lovely set of beakers out of the Castle Ashby kiln… ❤️
30/08/2026
We will be taking a well-earned late-summer break for 2 weeks now from Sunday, 30 August Monday, 14 September inclusive.
Our autumn term of courses and memberships kicks off from Tuesday, 15 September!
29/08/2026
Some of our beginners at The Depot with LOTS of glazing to do before we close this evening for a 2-week break… Paintbrushes will be steaming, I feel!!!