Film & Oral History

Modern Day Films

Roelof Uys, Lead Potter 2017

As part of a Tate St Ives exhibition Roelof made a film about 'How to make a Teapot' with Senara at On the Beach Productions.

For more details about modern and historical films relating to the Leach Pottery see our blog post.

Mingei Film Archive Project

We work in partnership with Marty Gross Film Productions Inc, and the St Ives Archive to collect, restore and make available historical films and oral history recordings about the Leach Pottery and the potters who worked here. We have also made one or two of our own. Below are a sample of films and oral histories currently available. We plan to add more in the coming months.

Listen to a recent (2020) podcast on Tales of a Red Clay Rambler where Marty talks about the Mingei Film Archive. It covers how a gift from Bernard Leach, in 1975, started Marty on a decades-long project to collect and restore videos surrounding the Mingei movement, including memories of his meetings with Bernard and Janet Leach in the 1970s.

The Leach Pottery, 1952 (DVD) Digitally Remastered 2nd Edition

Original footage of Bernard Leach and the Leach Pottery form 1952 -now digitized and released on DVD by Marty Gross Productions. This 32 minute black and white film is presented with narration by Bernard Leach recorded in the 1960s and an alternate narrative by Warren MacKenzie, recorded in 2007, who was an apprentice at the Pottery during the time of its making.

Buy now

Read background information about the film and more about the wider Mingei Film Archive Project.

Oral History

John Bedding, a Leach potter, 2008 Oral History

Interviewed by: Carol Holland (St Ives Archive, as part of HLF funded Memory Bay Project).

John Beddding came from London and eventually worked at the Leach Pottery. He gives a vivid description of the pottery as a ‘factory’ with a clear description of the kilns in action.