The Best Pottery Courses for Beginners - Pottery in Yorkshire

The Best Pottery Courses for Beginners - Pottery in Yorkshire

There seems to be a resurgence in people interested in pottery making at the moment. Luckily there are lots of great places in Yorkshire offering pottery courses for beginners.

I've researched this list mainly by searching the internet, but I do know a couple of the places local to me. If you have suggestions for other courses, please leave a comment below or email me.

If you're thinking of getting set up at home, my beginners guide to pottery tools and equipment may be useful for you.

If you run a course and would like to be added to this list please get in touch.

Here are the quick links to each section as this page is fairly long:

Pottery Courses in North Yorkshire

Katie Braida teaches her pottery classes every Thursday from 7-9 pm at Ebberston Studios. These sessions will teach you a range of hand building techniques and costs £14 per week. Katie also does workshops from her studio in Scarborough on request.

Ebberston Studios
21a Main Street
Ebberston
Scarborough
YO13 9NR

 

Charlotte Morrison runs workshops which cover a variety of different hand built forms. They are held at Artison in Masham. The workshop I looked at ran from 10 am - 4 pm on a Wednesday and cost £85 including materials.

Artison
High Burton House
Masham
Ripon
HG4 4BS

 

York College runs pottery evening classes from 6 - 8.30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They run in blocks which costs £275 - you can apply via their website link.

York College
Sim Balk Lane 
York
YO23 2BB

 

Bentham Pottery run a wide range of wheel throwing courses. There are half, full day and even 5 day courses available. The 5 day course is priced at £200 which seems very reasonable!

Bentham Pottery
OysterberFarm,
Low Bentham,
North Yorkshire,
LA2 7ET

 

Make N Take was originally started in 1986 and has been offering people a chance to produce their own pottery for over 30 years. Melissa has carried on the business started by her mum, and offers a wide range of services for pottery making. Unlike many paint a pot studios, the bisque is poured on site from their large collection of unique moulds. There are regular sessions for pottery painting charged at £5 for 2 hours, with extra charges depending on how much you make. There is also the chance to make pottery on the wheel. A two hour wheel sessions cost from £23 including one finished pot, demo and tuition. 

Wold View Buidings,
Bugthorpe, 
York
YO41 1QG 

Pottery Courses in East Yorkshire

Wentworth pottery offer residential pottery courses along with whole or half day sessions. There are also drop in sessions on Wednesdays 2 - 4 pm. They run a 10 week course for £170 which I think is 2 hours each time on an evening. Hover over images on the linked page for more information.

Wentworth Pottery
Wentworth House
Wentworth Grove
Aldbrough
HU11 4RU

 

The Potter Man Studio runs regular adult pottery classes in morning and evenings throughout the week. They cost £30 for a 3 hour session with all materials and firing costs included. They can also cater for parties and run workshops for schools and other community groups.

The Potter Man Studio
Unit 1A, Holme Industrial Estate
Skiff Lane,
Holme-on-Spalding Moor
East Yorkshire,
YO43 4BB

  

Jill Ford runs ceramics lessons and courses for children and adults. One of the most popular is the wheel throwing day course. This is provided for a minimum of two people 9.30 - 4.30 pm and costs £150 per person with lunch included. Shorter lessons are available covering a variety of making methods. 

Providence House 
Main Street 
Ellerton 
East Riding of Yorks. 
YO42 4PB

 

The adult learning centre in Cottingham runs a 6 week course on Wednesday evenings costing £126 in total. The course covers wheel throwing, hand building and decorative techniques.

Adult Learning Centre 
Hallgate
Cottingham
East Riding of Yorkshire
HU16 4DD

 

Pottery Courses in South Yorkshire

The Art House run a variety of courses, from fun drop in sessions where pots aren't fired ( £12 per hour) to year long courses split into 3 terms. These cost £198 per term, and you need to commit to 3 terms. There is also an open studio programme which allows more experienced potters to use the studio from £38 for 8 hours per month.

The Art House
8 Backfields
Sheffield
S1 4HJ

Barnsley College run a 10 week ceramics course on either Monday or Tuesday evenings from 6 - 8 pm. It introduces a variety of techniques and costs £200 for the whole course.

Barnsley College
Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2YW

 

 

Penny Withers taught pottery to my wife in her evening classes. Those classes are full now apparently, but Penny does run a raku kiln building and firing course. These run on three consecutive Saturdays and cost £225 in total.

Studio 13, Persistence Works
21 Brown Street
Sheffield
S1 2BS

 

Doncaster College run a 5 week ceramics course on coil and slab building, with the opportunity to use a wheel also. The course run for 6 - 8 pm on Tuesdays and cost £45.

Doncaster College and University Centre
The Hub
Chappell Drive
Doncaster
DN1 2RF 

 

Pottery Courses in West Yorkshire

It seems the Old Stables Studio has just about everything covered! Whether you're looking for an intense one week pottery bootcamp, taster session or weekend and evening classes. They also run open studios for more advanced potters to hone their skills on their own. Prices vary but 2.5 hour evening or afternoon classes for 12 week blocks cost £178.

One The Old Stables
Palace House Road
Hebden Bridge
West Yorkshire
HX7 6HW

 

Fired Art Designs run a selection of wheel throwing sessions from 2 hour, 4 hour or whole days. Prices depend on the party size so may be worth organising with friends to attend together.

The Firs,
17 Mill Hill Lane,
Pontefract
West Yorkshire, 
WF8 4JA

 

Firefly Pottery run a clay experience course which runs over 3 sessions and costs £85 altogether including materials. Each group of four people have a dedicated tutor. In addition to the clay experience course, they also run hand building workshops, 2 hour hand building sessions. There's also one to one and group wheel sessions. The website will soon be updated with these other options.

116 Town Street
Horsforth,
Leeds
LS18 4AH

 

The Swarthmore education centre runs pottery classes throughout the week in the day and in the evenings. The full rate for a 10 week block is £133 plus a small charge for firing costs.

Swarthmore Education Centre
2-7 Woodhouse Square
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS3 1AD

 

Sunken Studio offers wheel throwing experiences for one or two people which cost £120 for 3 hours. They also provide other tuition options in hand building and constructing with moulds.

Rebecca will be moving to a bigger space in central Leeds. The plan is to increase capacity across all short courses, add six weeks wheel classes & provide co-workspace. 

Sunken Studio
37 Sutherland Avenue
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS8 1BY 

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