Where would we be without Ceramics?  Since before Neolithic times Man has worked with Clay, its properties opening whole new worlds, physical and metaphysical: from ritualistic sculpture to hollow vessels allowing both storage and trading of goods; to clay tablets impressed with early writing recording deals, laws and tax calculations; bricks and tiles for construction, plus the later embellishments of cladding, murals and sculptural ornament, while ducts and pipework brought central heating as well as sanitation;  later still the ceramic components permitting long-distance transmission of electricity along power lines.  And then into flight and outer Space with aeroplanes and rockets whose engines and outer skins rely on ceramic technology.  I survey what Clay has done for us  -and where we might be without it.

First given in 2007 at Leicester University (Frank May Lecture)

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