Charles Stone, Mapperley Pottery and The Bottle Kiln, West Hallam

Signed C. Stone 1980.  Anyone ever seen one of these? I really like it! Stoneware, 4” long

Well at least you know the maker! Slightly stylistically confused piece. Don't know whether the little birds and the front add ons are meant to be humourous or not. Nicely done tho. Hobby potter?

Guess so, if appeals to me - be nice to know what else is out there.

Clever if he/she did it all on 16th February.

Here’s another I found yesterday, same signature and 4.2.80
Very sweet. I wish I’d kept the last one now!

Charles Stone.

Is that the Charles Stone, painter, who died in 2019 and designed the Bottle Kiln in Derbyshire? I could only find news of an auction of his paintings after his death. Can’t find any Charles Stone pottery or figurines.,

benwilliams wrote:Is that the Charles Stone, painter, who died in 2019 and designed the Bottle Kiln in Derbyshire? I could only find news of an auction of his paintings after his death. Can’t find any Charles Stone pottery or figurines.,

No I don't believe so.

He seems to be mostly unknown, but there is a tiny bit of info here:

https://twitter.com/MuseumandArt/status/1331666462411534341

I doubt he was potting long, most pieces seem to date around 79-80, one I have is from 79.

I'm still not convinced that is the same Charles Stone to be honest. Unless he had a different pottery before buying the bottle kiln(which sounds to be more of a cafe than a pottery?), otherwise the dates don't add up. Has any seen any examples of pottery from the bottle kiln?

Missed that detail, maybe then.

Hi... I stumbled on here quite by chance and noticed the interest in Charles Stone Pottery. Charles Stone was not a hobby potter, he was a professional and worked out of The Bottle Kiln as previously mentioned, he was also well know in the area for his paintings. I am lucky enough to own about a dozen of his pottery pieces and half dozen of his paintings... perhaps I should point out that he was my step brother in law.
My Father in law (his dad) visited the Bottle Kiln on various occasions and mother was so taken with his pottery, the intricacies of the lace like trees, the strange looking birds and the fact that every part of it was molded and worked on. Like myself, we were ignorant and just thought of a potter as someone who slaps a slab of clay on a wheel and makes vases and pots, but this sort of work was something different and she wanted some. So, as he was perfecting his art, he was still firing and glazing the pieces for sale in his restaurant which was part of the Kiln, she wanted some of these straight away in case he decided to try another tack, so she started buying some from him, most of them were the early ones and I believe the earlier ones were better. My mother passed away and these were left to my wife, she has sinced passed and now they are residing with me.... they are on full display in glass cabinets, as are his paintings, they are not hidden away to gather dust. Charles was a wonderful character and deserves to be remembered, it would be wrong for his name to disappear in obscurity and his work deserves to been seen.
I thank you all for the comments already made, he was worthy of them.... and I thank you for bringing him into the light....

TerryB

NaomiM wrote:

The Stone family purchased the derelict site in 1983. Charles Stone designed and built the present complex of which only the kiln shell is an original building, with substantial help from his sons. The business here has been run by the Stone family ever since."

This was the original pottery on the site.

https://www.20thcenturyforum.com/t20267-terraton-west-hallam-pottery-derbyshire

I visited many years ago, the bottle kiln was just a shell with a gravel floor that one could walk inside. Not actually in use.