The Leach Pottery is marking Volunteers’ Week, celebrating the role of the volunteers who have helped safeguard the pottery, and enrich visitors’ experiences.
Leach Pottery volunteer Andreas Priestland
The volunteers support a range of areas at the historic site, including the museum, within the learning team, and the garden. They also support the Oral History project, collecting people’s memories of the Leach Pottery and its people.
Andreas Priestland has donated a morning a week to help at the museum since 2023. He said: “I started volunteering at Leach in May 2023. I mostly do the front desk at the museum, but have helped out at a couple of community events as well.
“As a teenager, I took pottery lessons at school, as well as Saturday classes at a local art centre. Our family holidays in Cornwall were often spent exploring the various potteries that used to be scattered around west Cornwall. And at home, our prized pot was a Bernard Leach second.”
He added: “My wife and I moved to the St Ives area three years ago. Living just up the road from the Leach Pottery made it an easy decision to take up a volunteer position there.
“The pottery receives a wonderful mix of visitors, some of whom are potters in their own right — each visitor has a story to tell. The staff are lovely, and other volunteers are friendly and willing to help.”
Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Leach Pottery has recruited a volunteer coordinator to support and recruit volunteers. Hannah Tracey sees her role as ensuring volunteers find fulfilling roles within the pottery and provide ongoing support to develop their roles. In the past volunteers have gone on to develop their careers within the pottery.
“I am so grateful to the team of volunteers at the Leach Pottery for welcoming me, and for all the new volunteers I have recruited for being so enthusiastic and engaged,” she said. “I feel very lucky to work with such a talented and interesting group of volunteers.”
Gary Topp, chair of the board of trustees, said: “Volunteers are a vital part of the arts and culture sector, and the Leach Pottery is lucky to have a team of experienced and dedicated volunteers who give their time across the organisation to help us preserve this important part of the pottery’s history and enhance the visitor experience.
“We are immensely grateful for the work of our volunteers today, and the many volunteers who have given their time over the years.”
