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Middleport Pottery was built in 1888 by Burgess & Leigh Ltd (founders William Leigh and Frederick Rathbone Burgess). It is located at Middleport,
Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...
, England. The buildings, which still house an active pottery, are protected for their historic interest. Middleport Pottery is owned and operated by Re-Form Heritage.


History

Middleport Pottery has been described as a “model pottery" of the Staffordshire pottery industry at the time of its construction. Its scale and linear organisation contrast with the constricted sites and haphazard layout of traditional potteries such as the
Gladstone Pottery Museum The Gladstone Pottery Museum is a working museum of a medium-sized coal-fired pottery, typical of those once common in the North Staffordshire area of England from the time of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century to the mid 20th centu ...
. It was designed to make all production processes more efficient and to improve conditions for the workforce. The passageways between the ranges were just wide enough for a cart to get through, and for the easy movement of workers and pottery. Finished pottery was placed, using the crane next to the packing house, directly onto barges on the
Trent and Mersey Canal The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middl ...
waiting to take the ceramics out to the coast for international export. Alternatively they were sent out by horse and cart via the road. The Boulton steam engine powered the machinery for mixing clay and continued to be in use until the coal strike of the 1970s. It was fed by a large boiler that also provided steam for heating and drying pottery. The steam engine has now been restored to working order. Middleport Pottery had many pre-eminent designers over the years. Charlotte Rhead worked there from 1926 to 1931 producing her tube-lined designs, and David Copeland worked at the pottery in the 1960s, bringing modern designs while still using traditional copperplate engraving technique.


Conservation status of Middleport Pottery

The pottery was given
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
status in the 1970s. By this time six of the seven
bottle oven A bottle oven or bottle kiln is a type of kiln. The word 'bottle' refers to the shape of the structure and not to the kiln's products, which are usually pottery, not glass. Bottle kilns were typical of British industrial architecture, the indus ...
s on the site had been demolished. The surviving bottle oven was given its own listing. In 1988 the course of the Trent and Mersey Canal through Stoke-on-Trent was designated a linear
conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...
.


Urban decay

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
put the canal conservation area on the "Conservation Areas at Risk" register in 2010, in large part because of
urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...
caused by the decline of traditional industries. A 2011 review of the conservation area noted that Middleport Pottery was a building at risk.


The Prince’s Regeneration Trust / Re-Form Heritage involvement

By 2010 Middleport Pottery was at serious risk of permanent closure because of the very poor state of repair of the buildings and an inefficient layout of manufacturing. This would have seen the loss of jobs and substantial buildings of historic significance would have been left to further degenerate. In the same year The Prince's Regeneration Trust stepped in to buy and save the buildings with a back-to-back deal with Denby Holdings Ltd. and began a £9 million project to restore the structures, partly funded by the
National Lottery Heritage Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
and
Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
. When the work of The Prince's Regeneration Trust was divested to several other non-profits its interest in Middleport Pottery was transferred to Re-Form Heritage. The restoration work was led by
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (also known as FCBStudios) is a British architectural design firm, established in 1978, with offices in Bath, London and Manchester. The firm is known for its pioneering work in sustainable design and social design ...
and included a varied and extensive programme of training and educational activities to support the local community in skills provision with an emphasis on traditional British craftsmanship. The pottery opened to the public as a visitor destination in July 2014 following the three-year regeneration. In 2010 the pottery manufacturing areas were rationalised and acquired by Denby Holdings Limited, the parent company of the well-known UK ceramics and consumer goods manufacturer Denby Pottery. Denby Pottery continues to operate in the factory as a tenant, and as a result the production of Burleigh Pottery has continued uninterrupted at this site since it opened in 1889. The restoration enabled Burleigh Pottery to remain on-site, saving local jobs and craftsmanship. In total the restoration has saved 50 local jobs and created 70 more. The unused buildings have been developed to provide accommodation for workshops, enterprise space, craft and community areas, a café, a gallery and a heritage visitor centre. Areas of the site no longer in use for pottery manufacture provide visitor facilities and workspaces for rent.


Visitor destination

Following renovations, Middleport Pottery was opened to visitors in 2014. The pottery has enjoyed rising visitor numbers, and a number of businesses are based at the site. Burleigh Pottery is still produced at the site using traditional craftsmanship.


Prince of Wales Studios

The Old Packing House was refurbished and became the new Prince of Wales Studios that is open as a business home for craftspeople to work and exhibit their products. The Prince's Regeneration Trust granted £200,000 to the Pottery towards the conversion. Prince Charles, who had previously visited the pottery, made a return visit to help open the Studios in January 2016, including unveiling some signs. He also visited in 2017.


Awards

Since it opened as a visitor destination, the pottery has won eight awards: a RIBA National Award for architectural excellence; three RIBA West Midlands Awards; a Europa Nostra Award for heritage; a Civic Trust AABC Conservation Award for building conservation; a Placemaking Award for heritage; and a
Heritage Open Days Heritage Open Days (also known as HODs) is an annual celebration of England's history and culture that allows visitors free access to heritage sites and community events that are either not usually open to the public, would normally charge an ent ...
’ Community Champions Award.


Filming

It was the location for four series of ''
The Great Pottery Throw Down ''The Great Pottery Throw Down'' is a British television competition programme that first aired on BBC Two from 3 November 2015 to 23 March 2017. It was then moved to More4 from 8 January to 11 March 2020, and has been broadcast by Channel 4 si ...
'', and was featured in an episode of ''Peaky Blinders''.


References


External links


website
*{{National Heritage List for England , num= 1297939 , desc=Middleport Pottery (Burgess and Leigh) , grade=II* , accessdate=17 February 2016 Grade II* listed buildings in Staffordshire Tourist attractions in Stoke-on-Trent Structures formerly on the Heritage at Risk register Preserved stationary steam engines