Rye Pottery Ltd

About

Design – Heritage – Craftsmanship

We have an incredible team of highly-skilled makers and painters who you can often see at work when you visit us in Rye. Handmade and handpainted here in Sussex since 1793, today Rye Pottery is a contemporary design-led company in Sussex, England. We occupy an increasingly rare position as a small British production pottery, bridging the gap between studio and industry. We’re renowned for our beautiful handmade homewares and unique decorative accessories, with countless awards and pieces held in galleries, museums & design collections around the world. 

Our designs feature a time-consuming 17th Century decorating technique, known variously as Faience, Majolica or Delft. We call it English Delftware. 

We have just a handful of largely Victorian machines, so everything we do is about human skill – British craftsmanship at its finest. Each and every one of our pieces goes through a minimum of 12 hand processes (not least freehand brushwork) before reaching their finished state. This unusual production process, combined with our beautiful colour palette & strong sculptural shapes create a look that is quintessentially Rye Pottery. 

Our unusual Collections feature pottery figures based on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales , 1066 & The Battle of Hastings, charming animals and birds from the English countryside as well as a host of English characters ranging from Mrs Beeton to Nelson. We also make hand-decorated kitchen and bathroom tiles and a contemporary range of mid-century modern homewares, from the tiniest vase to bold sculptural lamp bases. 

One of our most celebrated pieces is The Sussex Pig, a quirky but traditional Sussex wedding present that has it’s origins as a drinking vessel at country weddings in the 1800s. 

Intrigued? Come and see us when you’re in Rye or in the meantime, why not click here to watch a short film about our Sussex Pigs and the time-honoured techniques we use to make our beautiful pottery.