The Groggs live in Pontypridd. This weird
breed of miniature beings were born in Wales in 1965, and have
been breeding merrily ever since. To find out what they are, and
whether you want one too – visit the Valleys’ answer
to a Spitting Image shop. Pontypridd is a 50 minute drive from
your self catering cottage.
The World of Groggs is all about handmade Welsh
crafts - the slightly devilish miniature caricatures are of famous
faces from rugby, soccer and cinema and more. They are handmade
huge-headed ceramic likenesses of the celebrities rich and ridiculous,
as well as of dragons and other mythical creatures.
It all started in 1965 when John Hughes, trying
to escape the rat race, made his first Grogg in the garden shed.
From his studio came the ‘Uglies’, clay rugby figures
which would become the template for the future. As Welsh rugby
became more successful the derelict Dan-y-Graig pub in Pontypridd’s
Broadway became the new home for the Groggs in 1971 to become
the Groggshop gallery and studio.
The figures are still hand crafted, designed,
created and made in Wales by Hughes’ family. Collectible
Groggs are made, limited to a run of a specific number.
There are Groggs for memorable occasions, such as the wedding
series, with married dragons in full bridal costume, or graduation
Groggs, through to sporting heroes, like
Made famous by the success of the Welsh rugby team and their accompanying
Groggs, the little clay characters have become collectors items,
for example the Land of My Fathers Collection, with the coal miner
figures modelled on ancestors of the Hughes family.
It is said that you’re not really famous
until you’ve been made into a Grogg. Visitors to the Groggshop
can view the full collection of figures in the museum, and see
the famous autograph wall, and memorabilia including shirts, socks
and boots of rugby and football stars as well as photos of personalities
with their prized figures.
