Situated
on the banks of the River Erne, visiting Belleek is like a step
back in time. The methods and techniques developed by the very first
craftsmen are still followed today. A video presentation in the
audio visual theater takes visitors through the production process
before the guided tour begins.
The pottery was established
in the village in 1857 by John Caldwell Bloomfield, who had inherited
nearby castle Caldwell. Bloomfield was a keen amateur potter, and
noticed all the ingredients of the potters craft were to be had
in the locality, within ten years of his company's foundation it
was producing award winning pieces of highly decorated and lustrous
parian ware, it is the oldest surviving pottery in Ireland.
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