Ursula Mommens

Ursula Mommens
Ursula Mommens at work, c. 1950
Born
Ursula Frances Elinor Darwin

(1908-08-20)20 August 1908
Died30 January 2010(2010-01-30) (aged 101)
NationalityEnglish
EducationRoyal College of Art
Known forPottery
Spouse(s)Julian Trevelyan
Norman Mommens

Ursula Frances Elinor Mommens (née Darwin, formerly Trevelyan; 20 August 1908 – 30 January 2010)[1][2] was an English potter. Mommens studied at the Royal College of Art, under William Staite Murray, and later worked with Michael Cardew at Winchcombe Pottery and Wenford Bridge Pottery.[3]

She was the daughter of Bernard Darwin and his wife the engraver Elinor Monsell. Her brother was Sir Robert Vere Darwin. She was the great-granddaughter of Charles Darwin and the great-great-granddaughter of the potter Josiah Wedgwood.[4]

She married first Julian Trevelyan; their son is the film-maker Philip Trevelyan. Her second husband was Norman Mommens.

Mommens lived and worked in South Heighton, East Sussex,[1] making both wood and gas-fired functional stoneware using a clay body she developed herself with ash glazes.[5] She lived to the age of 101.

  1. ^ a b "Ursula Mommens". The Ceramic Artist. Archived from the original on 14 April 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  2. ^ Whiting, David (3 February 2010). "Ursula Mommens obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  3. ^ "Ursula Mommens". The Pottery Studio. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  4. ^ Rastall, John. "Ursula Mommens – Potter". Harlequin Gallery. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  5. ^ Besson, Anita. "The Jug Show Artists". Galerie Besson. Retrieved 18 October 2019.