Westcountry

Over 80 years ago, a pioneering figure established a small pottery in the Cornish outpost of St Ives and yesterday a host of Eastern and Western supporters, followers and family members gathered at the same site to pay tribute to the influence and extensive legacy of Bernard Leach.

Leach became one of the great figures of 20th Century art, playing a crucial role in the development of the ceramics industry in Britain and around the world and, following a £1.7m transformation, the renowned Leach Pottery will once again be open for business.

A sympathetic redevelopment means the pottery is now a living tribute to its founder and can again become a thriving international centre with the creation of a new pottery training and business incubation facility, education resources and a showcase gallery.

Bernard Leach was born in the East and educated in the West. As he trained first as an artist in London and then as a potter in Japan he became fascinated by the two cultures that seemed so different. His continued work and experience in Japan and Korea and the establishment of the Leach Pottery in St Ives in 1920 led to the development of his reputation as a key pioneering figure in the ceramics world. Collaborating with a young Japanese potter, Shoji Hamada, Leach built the first oriental climbing kiln in the West.

Over the course of fifty years, Leach taught, wrote and trained other potters in the great art, combining Japanese and European aesthetics through his work. Today, many international links are still in existence between Leach Pottery and Japan in particular and these will be marked as the grandsons of Leach and Hamada formally open the rejuvenated Pottery with the Japanese Ambassador, His Excellency Mr Yoshiji Nogami, and many members of the local St Ives community in attendance.

Although there are some notable public collections of Leach pots at the Crafts Study Centre, Farnham and the Victoria & Albert Museum, most of his work is now in private hands. His is the pre-eminent name for any serious collector of studio pottery and the Pottery in St Ives is the place where most of this work was created and thus bears the valued St Ives mark.

The £1.7mrejuvenation of studios and workshops will therefore recreate, re-establish and develop the quality and reputation of the original Leach Pottery by developing Leach's ethos and securing his legacy in a modern context.

Through a partnership with University College Falmouth, the new development will enable students to work alongside established craftspeople to develop their techniques, and Leach Pottery will provide a high level of skills training in a supportive atmosphere.

All aspects of the potter's trade will be covered including design, production, marketing and exhibition. Leach Pottery will also mentor business start-ups and provide studio space for emerging talent.

The redevelopment of the new site has sympathetically restored the Leach cottage and old pottery; both Grade II listed buildings. The climbing kiln, a scheduled monument, is now fully protected from the elements by a carefully restored roof and the original workshops have been preserved. The soot-blackened roof over the kilns, the fireplace beside which Bernard Leach gave his critiques and all the equipment, including the chart of test tiles, remains almost untouched.

Drawing on Japanese influences, the new pottery studio building on its stilts and simple cube gallery, connected to the historic buildings with wooden walkways, link the pottery's past with its future.

The transformation has been made possible as a result of funding and support from, amongst others, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, Arts Council England South West, the Rural Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Partnership, Penwith District Council, Cornwall County Council and St. Ives Town Council.

Significant funds have also been raised from trusts and foundations, membership subscriptions and by the local Leach Pottery Support Group and it is expected that the rejuvenated pottery and visitor attraction will host up 30,000 visitors per year.