Christopher James LUDLOW
Co-founder, alongside DERRICK WILSHAW, of the Lamorna Pottery in 1947. His skill as a pot decorator was greatly admired and as Derrick was the better thrower, they complemented each other.
Chris was born in Limerick, Ireland but after his mother's death, he and his sister were sent to live with relatives in Cornwall. He attended Hayle Grammar School, then became a student at Penzance School of Art. After a few years in St Ives, he worked in retail in Manchester, Liverpool, London and then Cambridge. On the outbreak of World War II he was based in Kingston-upon-Thames, but after volunteering to join the RAF, he served in a number of different locations including India.
After the war, he took advantage of the ex-Servicemen's Training Scheme to train at a pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, where he met a young fellow-student, Derrick Wilshaw. In 1947 Ludlow returned to Penzance and came across the old milk factory in Lamorna, which he and Wilshaw converted to a pottery in order to set up in business together.
Ludlow was not commercially minded and struggled with his mental health so the joint venture was not an unqualified success. While popular with tourists, the range of their ware was not particularly practical. In 1956 Derrick Wilshaw left Lamorna to move to Falmouth.
Chris Ludlow was now assisted by JOHN BODILLY, who had joined the pottery as a fifteen-year-old apprentice in 1953. During the 1960s Ludlow began to lose interest in the business, which was taken over by George and Margaret Smith, who had previously worked at a pottery in Hampstead. This enabled Chris to take a refresher course in pottery in St Johns Wood, London. On his return to Lamorna, artistic differences with the Smiths resulted in a parting of the ways. As a consequence of Ludlow's deteriorating mental health, he spent some time in St Lawrence's Hospital in Bodmin. Following this, he obtained a teaching post at Helston School of Art, but he never fully recovered and died in 1969. Under the terms of his will, the pottery was left to John Bodilly who subsequently sold it to PETER BROWN.
media
Ceramics
references
Tovey, David (2022) Lamorna - An Artistic, Social and Literary History - Volume II - Post-1920, Wilson Books