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Middleport Pottery
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, 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.
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.
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 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.
The pottery went into bankruptcy in 1999. Three offers were considered. Two wished to demolish the pottery for its land, while one offer was from William and Rosemary Dorling who wished to save the pottery and continue production. They revitalized the inventory with new colors and were moving forward, but unfortunately, a bookkeeper was embezzling funds and not paying taxes. In 2010, the Dorlings sold the pottery to Denby and remained on staff as consultants for three months. After a year, Denby sold the pottery to the Prince's Regeneration Trust so it could be restored and renovated.The Dorlings were a key part of the history of the pottery. Had it not been for their efforts, there would have been no pottery left to be renovated.
The pottery was given listed building status in the 1970s. By this time six of the seven bottle ovens 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.
English Heritage put the canal conservation area on the "Conservation Areas at Risk" register in 2010, in large part because of 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.
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Middleport Pottery
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, 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.
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.
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 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.
The pottery went into bankruptcy in 1999. Three offers were considered. Two wished to demolish the pottery for its land, while one offer was from William and Rosemary Dorling who wished to save the pottery and continue production. They revitalized the inventory with new colors and were moving forward, but unfortunately, a bookkeeper was embezzling funds and not paying taxes. In 2010, the Dorlings sold the pottery to Denby and remained on staff as consultants for three months. After a year, Denby sold the pottery to the Prince's Regeneration Trust so it could be restored and renovated.The Dorlings were a key part of the history of the pottery. Had it not been for their efforts, there would have been no pottery left to be renovated.
The pottery was given listed building status in the 1970s. By this time six of the seven bottle ovens 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.
English Heritage put the canal conservation area on the "Conservation Areas at Risk" register in 2010, in large part because of 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.
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