The kiln, which was designed by Michael O’Brien and completed in 1992, is a  400 cubic feet round down-draught type, with six `Bourry’ fireboxes fed by pre-heated combustion air from ducts running alongside the exit flues.

A normal firing to cone 04 : 1060 degrees centigrade, takes about thirty six hours and consumes between two, and two and a half cords of round coppice hard wood, and pine slab wood.

A typical pack consists of a mixed load of large and small plant pots and raw-glazed slipware, varying in size from small domestic pieces to large glazed jars . To bring the largest pots through the firing successfully, a pre-heat of twelve hours to 200 degrees centigrade is necessary; this drives off residual moisture in the pots  without splitting  them.

Towards the end of the firing, holding the temperature, or 'soaking', the kiln at 950 degrees centigrade for an hour or more, helps to create an even temperature from the top to the bottom of the kiln chamber, and to encourage the cones (heat work indicators) to bend together when bringing the kiln up to top temperature: 1060 degrees. Soaking for extended periods at top temperature can use large amounts of extra fuel, and run the risk of over firing the pots in the top of the kiln.