Sheila Willison, Overstone Pottery, Sarisbury

Small bowl. Marked O.P. Sarisbury on the base.

Can't find anything about a studio pottery being based there, although a couple of pieces apparently marked Sarisbury have sold on ebay in the past.
Anyone know what O.P. stands for?

Not sure if its related to yours, but I'm currently trying to find some details on a pottery in Sarisbury for which I have a partial label, but no luck yet.

Overstone Pottery I believe

Relocated 1966 from Northampton by Sheila Willison. Closed 1998 I think, although there seems to be a Ceramic Tile manufacturer listed of same name

I was going to say that! I have or had stuff from them when they were still in Northants. Didn't realize they'd moved

Could you post a pic of the front, oldmagpie?

gareth-h wrote:Overstone Pottery I believe

Relocated 1966 from Northampton by Sheila Willison. Closed 1998 I think, although there seems to be a Ceramic Tile manufacturer listed of same name

Thanks Gareth, I've been in touch with a local museum down near Sarisbury as part of my search as I didn't have a complete name and they have no reference to there ever being a pottery at the address on the label. Having the full name let me do some digging and found a reference to it on the BBC's doomsday reloaded website. I will have to get in touch with the museum again and let them know.  

The pottery is called Overstone. Mrs.
Willison has been a potter for          
thirty-five years and has been at    
Overstone for nineteen years.She buys
her clay from Stoke on Trent and a    
kind dentist has given her some dental
tools for using in the pottery.Pottery
is made of earth shaped with the aid  
of water,dried in air and made hard by
fire. All the colours and other things
she needs come from the ground.She has
a small shop where she sells her      
pottery.She uses a machine to make the
clay into a sausage shape.Her pottery
wheel runs by its self so she doesn't
have to use her feet.Her sister draws
the pictures on some of the plates.  
About forty pieces are made every day.

Pin dish.

the potter Sheila Willison is still alive and doing Ok considering she is in her 90's. Her pieces are all marked 'Overstone Pottery'. Sheila still continues in the creative vein - one day she decided she had simply 'had enough' of potting, and instead she turned her hands to designing and creating beautiful tapestries, many based on Sheherazade. These have been exhibited in the past but now adorn her lovely home.

I bet she's amused that some of her old pots have been offered on Ebay.  

I remember selling one myself many years ago.

A 4.3 in pot with a different label.





Maybe worth adding "Sheila Willison" to the thread title?

Coffee set

A punt off eBay. Can’t make out the mark written on the base but I’m getting a Briglin vibe from it

My first thought was it looked a bit like early Briglin. and I had not read your header completely. Sort of 50's early 60's when sgraffito was quite popular. Certainly of that era. Must admit though, that my few punts on Ebay have always been miserable failures

Top half is a bit Briglinee but bottom half not really. Shapes not.

Is the mark convincing as "OP" the other way up?

I think you’re right. I thought it was AO or AD but it was a dimple in the base.
Overstone Pottery, maybe?  

Overstone Pottery - looks right to me from what I can see online