What is a Grogg?
ABOUT
- A Grogg is a caricature figure made by the World of Groggs, established by John Hughes in 1965. Most Groggs are 9 inches (230 mm) tall or less and are made of a type of clay called grog. Groggs are usually made of popular Welsh rugby players, Welsh celebrities and the occasional non-Welsh celebrity. Whenever possible the person who is “grogged” is presented with the first Grogg produced They are moulded and painted by hand and a Grogg can take many weeks from the master copy being made to the first one being painted.
- John Hughes started flirting with ceramics and pottery as early as 1965 with a kiln in his garden shed in the family home on Llantwit Road, Treforest. But it was not till 1967 that his rugby figures were born. In 1971 the family purchased the derelict Dan-y-Graig pub in Treforest near Pontypridd and opened the Groggshop as it was then called. The business remains there to this day The figures are called Groggs after the type of clay that was originally used to make them.