Broseley Clay Tobacco Pipes

I am a clay tobacco pipe enthusiast, having researched, excavated, collected and lectured on tobacco pipes for more than 20 years.

Broseley's clay tobacco heritage stretches back just over 400 years, a tobacco pipemaker being recorded in the town in 1590.

The town achieved a reputation for quality pipes in the 17th Century which came to be acknowledged worldwide. Pipemaking continued until 1957 when the last factory in the town, the Southorns, finally closed. The Southorns' premises in King Street is now a pipeworks museum, open from the end of May until the end of September.
Click here for more details of the Pipe Museum (Southorns Works)

I recently acquired my own kiln and am now making clay pipes in the traditional manner, each pipe being pressed using a reproduction cast iron mould, then hand finished and finally fired.

The popular short Broseley cutty, available in many attractive patterns including The Football, The Rustic, The Hand and Tankard, the Lacy Lady's Leg and The Bulldog, retails at £3.50, and can be posted worldwide. The more elegant 17-inch or 22-inch Churchwarden costs £25.00, but is available only to special order and must be collected.

Orders to: Rex M Key, Rotherhurst, Woodlands Road, Broseley, Shropshire, TF12 5PU, UK

Telephone: 01952 882714.
e-mail: rex.key@ukonline.co.uk