The earliest written evidence of the pottery trade in Honiton can be found in the Churchwarden’s accounts in 1643.

By 1842 there were two potteries in the town. Thomas Flood’s pottery was in the High Street opposite Dowell Street and Peter Hussey’s was situated on ground behind the existing Honiton Pottery Shop & Milkshake Bar. The pottery manufactured was a coarse type of earthenware.

Honiton Pottery was started at the site in High Street by James Webber in 1881. The clay he used was dug from a seam thirty foot below the ground behind the pottery and he produced basic traditional baking ware and flowerpots.

When Mr Webber retired, Ellis Forster and William Hunt continued the business. They sold the property to Charles Collard in 1918. He modernised the building and the facilities by installing toilets, water and gas. He experimented with firing of the pottery, the paints and glazes and stopped the use of lead glazes and greatly expanded the range of designs and styles.

Until Charles Collard moved into ‘Kingswood’, the house next door to the pottery in 1927 he lived at Ilminster and cycled the 34 mile round trip to and from work in Honiton each day. His daughter Joan became a partner in the business in the 1930s. From that time it was said that the pottery never closed. If a coach party turned up unexpectedly, even on a Sunday, visitors would be shown around by Charles or his daughter. It was during the Collard era that Honiton Pottery was promoted and exported all over the world to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, the Malay States, France, Africa, India, China, Denmark, Bermuda and British Columbia.

Production stopped during the Second World War because the workers were either called up or engaged in other war time occupations. Joan went to work in the drawing office at Westlands, the aircraft manufacturers in Yeovil. The pottery was re-opened in October 1945. Charles Collard retired two years later and sold the pottery to Hull and Barratt from the Staffordshire potteries. They named the factory the Honiton Art Potteries Ltd. During the 1950s electric kilns replaced the coal fired kilns and moulds replaced hand throwing.

After another change of ownership in 1961 to Paul and Jennifer Redvers, the pottery finally ceased production in 1991. The Dartmouth Pottery bought the right to use the name Honiton Pottery.