Wetheriggs Pottery

Wetheriggs Pottery is a Grade II listed building and scheduled monument near Penrith, Cumbria, representing one of the last surviving country potteries in England.

The site contains a historic beehive kiln, drying sheds, workshops, steam engine house with in-situ steam engine, and associated industrial infrastructure including a blunger, settling pans, and wagonway.
Following closure in 2008, the buildings remained vacant and deteriorated significantly. A structural survey revealed critical structural failures including walls leaning up to 120mm out of plumb, ridge levels dropped 350-400mm, severely deteriorated roof structures, and progressive masonry movement threatening collapse of significant portions of the historic fabric including potential damage to the nationally important kiln. 
The project involved a comprehensive conservation repair and conversion of the pottery buildings to a single dwelling. The engineering challenge centred on preserving maximum historic fabric while addressing fundamental structural failures that previous interventions had failed to arrest. 
All this required detailed structural calculations, specification of conservation-appropriate materials and fixings, careful sequencing to prevent progressive collapse during works, and close collaboration with conservation officers, Historic England, and the contractor.

This project demonstrates the application of conservation engineering principles to save a nationally important industrial heritage asset through finding viable sustainable use whilst maximising retention of significant fabric and preserving the site's legibility and character.

Client: Private client