page_title: Bernard Leach
section_title: Back in England
hierarchical_section_title: Bernard Leach / Biography / Back in England
caption_attribution_description: The Leach Pottery Home of studio pottery The Leach Pottery in St Ives was established by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada in 1920. One of the great figures of 20th century art, Leach played a crucial pioneering role in creating an identity for artist potters in Britain and around the world. In March 2008, a £1.7 million capital project was completed, giving new life to the Leach Pottery and enabling it to set up in production and open its doors to the public once again.
context_page_description: Bernard Howell Leach CH CBE, was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery".
context_section_description: Leach returned to England in 1920 on the invitation of Frances Horne. Horne was establishing a Guild of Handicrafts within the existing artist colony of St Ives in Cornwall. On the recommendation of a family friend, Edgar Skinner, she contacted Leach to suggest that he become the potter within this group.  Leach and his wife Muriel were accompanied by the young Hamada Shoji and, having identified a suitable site next to the Stennack river on the outskirts of St Ives, the two established the Leach Pottery in 1920.  They constructed a traditional Japanese climbing kiln or 'Noborigama (登り窯)', the first built in the West. The kiln was poorly built and was reconstructed in 1923 by Matsubayashi Tsurunosuke. 
  In 1934, Leach and Mark Tobey travelled together through France and Italy, then sailed from Naples to Hong Kong and Shanghai, where they parted company, Leach heading on to Japan.
  Leach formally joined the Baháʼí Faith in 1940. A pilgrimage to the Baháʼí shrines in Haifa, Israel, during 1954 intensified his feeling that he should do more to unite the East and West by returning to the Orient "to try more honestly to do my work there as a Baháʼí and as an artist..."
  Leach promoted pottery as a combination of Western and Eastern arts and philosophies. His work focused on traditional Korean, Japanese and Chinese pottery, in combination with traditional techniques from England and Germany, such as slipware and salt glaze ware. He saw pottery as a combination of art, philosophy, design and craft – even as a greater lifestyle. A Potter's Book (1940) defined Leach's craft philosophy and techniques; it went through many editions and was his breakthrough to recognition.
caption: Interior of the Leach Pottery
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