The Three-tiered money box

Many of the museums within the Wessex Museums partnership have impressive collections of Verwood ceramics, with domestic objects such as this. The ceramic industry in Verwood, Dorset arguably dates to the Roman period. In the third and fourth centuries, records show that yellow clay was taken from Verwood for use in the Roman New Forest potteries. After this, Verwood’s pottery industry is thought to have been re-established in the twelfth or thirteenth centuries until production ceased in 1952 for economic reasons. Over this period, much of the clay dug in the village was yellow and was often mixed with blue clay brought from Holwell by horse and cart, for producing a wide variety of pots.  Experienced hands were needed, with two people working in unison to throw a pot on a wheel turned by hand. An earth mould kiln was used to fire the pots, with a roaring fire that took three days to reach optimum temperature. The pots were often stacked one atop the other to utilise space, and later removed with an iron hook. After the potteries were re-established, Verwood enjoyed steady production, selling a diverse range of goods in Salisbury for 500 years, with exports to the continent until its decline and demise in 1952. This was likely triggered by World War One, when twelve Verwood potteries were forced to close and enamel ware was proving more popular during the social-economic upheaval, due to its more reasonable price and greater durability.[ii]