Belleek Pottery Visitor Centre
Details
A visit to Belleek Pottery Visitor Centre, is the perfect way for you to spend a day out, with fun for all the family.
A great fun day out for all the family to enjoy.
Called after the John Caldwell Bloomfield, founder of Belleek Pottery, the Bloomfield Trail has been developed primarily to accommodate younger visitors to the pottery telling the story of how the pottery is made using the character of Mr Bloomfield.
A series of 16 hand drawn, colourful ceramic plaques are located at key points on the pottery tour. Head of Design at Belleek, Fergus Cleary created the animations of the Bloomfield Trail taking inspiration from a series of old photographs dating back to 1857.
Children are provided with a trail map at reception so that as they accompany adults on the traditional Belleek factory tour they are looking, searching and identifying the plaques.
Whilst the traditional tour has welcomed thousands of school groups, families and many youth groups, it can often be a little more challenging for children under the age of 10 years. The Bloomfield Trail aims to hold the attention of younger visitors and explains the process of making the pottery in a more child friendly manner as each plaque is inscribed with a short piece of text explaining the accompanying image.
THE BELLEEK EXPERIENCE
Begin your visit with an interactive guided tour. Visitor Centre Guides will take you on a 30 minute pottery tour where you will see the 16 steps of how this world famous product is created. Some of the skills demonstrated, you will see moulding, flowering, painting and basket weaving. You will also have the opportunity to see the Belleek craftsmen and women at work highlighting the skill involved in every process. Visitor participation is encouraged throughout the tour, glazing product and breaking pieces that do not meet the required standard.
As one of Northern Ireland’s most recognised tourist attractions, visitors and locals continue to flock to the visitor centre. What makes the visitor experience most interesting for those who visit is the combined presentation of industrial heritage, design and craftsmanship.
As the oldest working pottery in Ireland, the heritage of Belleek is hard to ignore. In addition to the displays of exquisite craftsmanship, a 20 minute audio visual presentation will inform you of the rich history of the pottery from its beginnings in the mid 1800’s right the way through to present day.
Once you have completed your tour, you can enjoy a little retail therapy in the Belleek Showroom where you have the opportunity to purchase from our exclusive range. A selection of pieces only available at the Visitor Centre can be purchased, packaged and posted for your convenience. A wide range of giftware including pottery and jewellery as well as oven and tableware are on offer.
ONE SIXTY is a photographic collection of moments and memories telling the story of Belleek Pottery over 16 decades. ONE SIXTY showcases the people, scenery and industrial heritage of the Pottery. We have gathered photos showing the many, many faces that have worked in the pottery over the years, including an early 1900’s staff photo.
To complete your visit why not take a little time out at our Belleek Tea Room where you can enjoy some well-deserved refreshments from our savoury and sweet menu served on our Belleek tableware range.
We want to ensure your visit to us is as easy as possible, that’s why our visitor centre facilities are situated entirely across ground floor level.
We look forward to welcoming you to Belleek
Opening hours
Retail Showroom, Museum and Audio Visual Theatre will be reopening on Monday 6th July, 9.30am-1.30pm..
*Guidelines have been put in place to keep our customers as safe as possible.
*Due to Covid19 pandemic our opening hours have changed. We are only open weekdays Monday-Friday closed Saturday & Sunday. Looking forward to seeing you all.
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