Before the 18^th Century, pottery manufacture was largely a domestic industry, perhaps involving the whole family. Early potter's workshops varied in form and size and probably accomodated all of the processes in one building. These workshops frequently had thatched roofs. Larger manufacturers may have had more workshops or perhaps a warehouse.
Most potters would own one kiln built of brick, possibly having the familar bottle shape, which was much smaller than those built in the 19^th and 20^th Century. The average oven was about 6 feet wide (approx. 2 metres) by 8 feet high (approx 2.5 metres).
Pots were either thrown on the wheel or press moulded from local clay. The same clay was used to make coloured slips to coat and decorate the pots which were fired once and were then sold locally to peddlars or cratesmen, or were sent further afield by packhorse. Staffordshire pots were reaching the North American colonies by the early 17th century.