Goosfest - The Life and Work of William Moorcroft

A lecture by James Smallwood (in collaboration with Goostrey Guild).

Arguably one of the greatest potters in recent times whose work is still highly valued.

Moorcroft’s life story is absolutely fascinating from the incredible diversity of his designs to his tenacity to keep a successful business running through two world wars, miners’ strikes and a recession.

He also had to build and equip his own premises in just a few months when his employer closed down his pottery department.James has been a keen collector of Moorcroft pottery for over 30 years and is an accredited lecturer for the Arts Society.

He has an extensive collection covering William Moorcroft’s entire working career from 1898 to 1945 and will bring pieces along to display.

He has been a member of the Moorcroft Collectors’ Club, has visited the pottery on a number of occasions and has an in-depth knowledge of past and present processes of manufacture.

He is in regular contact with Moorcroft and has generously been given access to their archive material.

Two of his friends who are former employees helped in his research as did Paul Atterbury from the Antiques Roadshow who has written the definitive guide to Moorcroft.

A recent lecture was attended by a former member of the board of directors who told James that even they had learned some new facts about William Moorcroft!