Claverton Cloches: A Visit to Their Bucolic Barn Workshop

When Beth Gregg and her partner Janus Intelmann were hunting for antique cloches to use in their own small garden in Bath back in 2020, they soon realized that few of those surviving cloches had stood the test of time. So they decided to try and make their own.

Armed with a Victorian cloche bought at auction and another from a neighbor, Janus created a new prototype based on these original iron and glass designs. They looked for a foundry that could make the cast iron structure and placed a minimum order for ten. After painting and glazing, they sold them all on Instagram—and soon found themselves starting their business, Claverton Cloches, from a spare room at home.

It didn’t take long for them to outgrow that tiny room. With a burgeoning order list, they moved to a larger studio, and then last year they relocated again to a bucolic stone barn just outside Bath. Here in their workshop, surrounded by rolling fields and herds of bleating sheep, they glaze, putty, and finish each of their cloches. The couple have now introduced a new shape, an octagonal cloche, with plans for more designs. Recently, we caught up with Beth to find out how they’ve built a business from these charming garden accessories.

Photography courtesy of Claverton Cloches except where noted.

With no design experience, but a shared love of craft, Beth and Janus experimented a lot to refine their original prototype. “Janus sketched out the cloches over and over again, studying each angle and corner in minute detail before modeling it in 3D on the computer, whilst teaching himself to use the software at the same time,” explains Beth. “We then bought a small 3D printer, and printed the designs in plastic first to understand how the glass and putty would fit into the frame. Again, the glass cutting and puttying skills are all self-taught.”