FITZHEAD potter John Watt was doubly pleased at the recent harvest celebration.

His large ceramic panels, delightfully portraying village life and St James Church, were blessed by the vicar during the festival ceremonies.

The three panels have recently been mounted in the church, having been created by John, 84, who has lived in Fitzhead for 26 years together with his wife, artist Va Jones-Watt.

They show all the village landmarks, nestling together in charming style - from the church, the tithe barn, the pub, a well-known wall and tree, right down to the sheep and horses that are part of many villagers` activities.

“I originally started out with just one large panel showing village life, and wanted to portray the relationship between Church and village,” said John.

“Then the architectural features of the church tower, ancient lantern and an avenue of Irish yews formed a second panel.”

Finally, by making a third panel portraying the interior of the church, John had ended up the creator of a splendid eight foot by four foot triptych which will now be a memorable village feature in its own right.

“His design is a real encircling, holding church, people, rural life, all together,” said the Rev Helene Stainer at the Harvest Celebration.

John`s beautiful pottery has found homes all over the world, and he also taught classes from his Fitzhead studio for many years.