Batterham developed an interest in pottery at a young age whilst studying at Bryanston School.  He spent two years working under Bernard Leach at the Leach Pottery in St Ives, Cornwall.  While there, he worked with Atsuya Hamada, son of Shoji Hamada.  After leaving the pottery, he set up his own studio in Durweston, Dorset.  

In 1967, he began working at a new pottery workshop in Durweston, where he built a four-chambered oil and wood-fired kiln, and a small salt glaze kiln.  He always used a kick wheel to throw his pots, and this was built for him based on Atuya Hamada’s wheel.  He worked alone, and also with his son, Reuben, and French potter, Thiébaut Chagué, in this pottery for the rest of his life.

His pots were functional and glazed in colours ranging from celedon blues and greens to manganese browns and blacks.  Describing his work, Batterham said, “I like to make something you can hold.  If someone really hugs onto a pot, that’s lovely and just how it should be.”

Batterham’s work is in numerous public collections, including the Tate and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

“The main work is not to make pots, but to allow them to come, to allow them go grow, to allow them to be alive.” — Batterham

Group Exhibitions

1. British Ceramics 12 - 25 October 2023