History of pottery in El Vendrell

The presence of ceramics as an economic activity in El Vendrell dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries, when there were some economic and social changes that marked the future of the town, such as the appearance of a new crop: the vineyard.

​

Around 1879, there are the first references to pottery workshops that had to be outside the town walls, which then surrounded the town, for safety reasons, as annoying fumes were produced and there was a danger of fire. For this reason, all pottery activity was concentrated in the vicinity of the Bisbal torrent, which, at the same time, was one of the places where the raw material was obtained, clay. Other places of material extraction were Mas Borràs, Mas Canyís, Les Torretes and Tomoví.

​

In Sant Vicenç de Calders there was the so-called Salonar section, from which the sauló was taken, which in El Vendrell was called saldó. This yellowish sand with refractory properties was used to cover the inner walls of the kilns and to extend the work to the era and prevent it from sticking. Another material needed to make the batches was firewood, which was obtained from nearby forests such as Mas Borràs. Gas or electric furnaces are currently used.

​

Archaeological remains have been found in the region, showing that one of the first pieces made by man was terracotta tools. In Tomoví there is a pottery kiln from the 2nd century AD and, since then, it is believed that the production of pottery has continued over the years to the present day.

​

The Vendrell pottery has characteristic shapes and colors: the pitcher and the jug, the green color and the honey color. Poultry and livestock tools were also worked on.

​

El Vendrell workshops

One of the first documented workshops was Cal Gerrer, a workshop of the Fabré family, dating from the 18th century. It was located on Carrer de la Cristina Baixa, right next to the Riera de la Bisbal. It had an outdoor courtyard where the clay was prepared.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

From the end of the 19th century, the potters' workshops were spread throughout the peripheral area of the town. The following is known:

- In Carrer d'Àngel Guimerà, the Serra family.
- In Carrer de Montserrat, on the corner with Carrer de Sant Magí, Els Bonsoms.
- In Carrer de Sant Magí, the pottery of Fèlix Vidales Guarro.
- In Albinyana Street, the Moragas family.
- In Carrer del Pou, the Fontana family and the Guinovart family.
- In Barceloneta Baixa street, the Nin family.
- In Carrer de l'Estela, the Pere Fontana families.
- In Santa Anna Street, the Font family.
- In Carrer de la Cristina Alta, the Rovirosa family, documented until the end of the 19th century.
- In Carrer X, the Guivernau family, who came from Esparreguera at the end of the 19th century.
- In Carrer de Mar, the Figueres tiles and the Poblet stonemasons.

​

Some of these workshops were affected by the opening of new streets, forcing them to close or move. Many of these workshops combined the production of utilitarian pottery with that of tiles, tiles, and bricks, especially in times of high demand, such as 1874, after the Third Carlist War; during the preparation of the Universal Exhibitions of 1888 and 1929 in Barcelona, and, later, during and after the Spanish Civil War.

​

Some potters devoted themselves solely to this task, such as the Casas family, 18th-century tile makers; the Figueres family, natives of Pallejà, who had the workshop in Carrer de Mar, or the Vidal family, who settled in Carrer de la Carnisseria, where there was the so-called Torre de la Rajoleria, which at the entrance of the Carlists it was used to defend the town.

​

At the end of the 19th century, the Nin, who had a long pottery tradition because they had previously been stonemasons, enlarged the small workshop on Carrer de la Barceloneta Baixa to open a 1,000-square-meter factory. This factory specialized in pieces intended for ornamentation, glazed tiles in different colors, balusters, red tiles and decorated tiles in the modernist style. The Nin exported red tiles not only throughout Spain, but also to America, where it is known as El Vendrell.

​

In Carrer del Duc de la Victòria, currently owned by Andreu Nin, there was the Esvertit tiles, known as Mismo. They had also been stonemasons and used a small part of their workshop for pitchers and jugs. Along with the Nin family, they were one of the most important industries during the last decade of the 19th century. Much of the architectural decoration reminiscent of modernist Vendrell is theirs. The tiles of Fèlix Vidales Guarro and Josep Vidal followed in importance.

​

In Carrer de Santa Anna, near the Valls road, Joan Llansà Barot set up a small tile and tile industry at the beginning of the 20th century. His son Salvador inherited the factory. The widow of this one and his brother, Maria and Casimiro Coll, took over the company in 1929. From then on Vídua Llansà or Cal Coll was characterized by its eagerness to experiment in new techniques, subjects , parts and varnishes. Red tile was one of its most successful products and in the fifties they incorporated the Italita section, which consisted of the production of high hardness varnished tiles.

​

​

​​

​

Artcile. New Ceramic Magazine