Families in Swadlincote looking for creative activities during the upcoming half term can participate in a Sea Glass Art workshop at Sharpe’s Pottery Museum. The session will take place on Thursday 28 May 2026, from 10.30am to 12.30pm, offering residents a chance to create their own coastal-inspired artwork.
The workshop costs £15 per person and is open to both adults and children. It is part of a broader programme of activities hosted by the museum to provide affordable entertainment for the local community during the school holiday period, which runs from 25 May to 29 May 2026.
Located at 23 West Street, the museum is situated at the heart of the National Forest. The venue itself is a site of significant local history, housed in a Grade II listed bottle kiln that is believed to be the oldest surviving sanitary pottery works in the country and possibly the world.
The site was established in 1821 by Thomas Sharpe, who came from a farming background, and the business remained on the same site for over 200 years. This legacy reflects the area’s historical importance in pottery manufacturing and coal mining, an industrial past documented by the South Derbyshire District Council.
The museum remains fully wheelchair accessible and offers free admission to its galleries. In addition to the sea glass activity, the museum hosts a variety of ongoing workshops throughout the year, including pottery classes, mosaic making, and clay sculpting sessions led by instructors such as Elaine Lim-Newton and Joanna Dawidowska.
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