Middleport Pottery

Last updated
Middleport Pottery
Middleport Pottery - panoramio (1).jpg
LocationUnited Kingdom OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Coordinates 53°02′28″N2°12′43″W / 53.041226°N 2.2119407°W / 53.041226; -2.2119407 Coordinates: 53°02′28″N2°12′43″W / 53.041226°N 2.2119407°W / 53.041226; -2.2119407
Website re-form.org/middleportpottery/information
United Kingdom relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of Middleport Pottery
Middleport Pottery, entry (2014) Middleport Pottery - panoramio.jpg
Middleport Pottery, entry (2014)

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. [1] The buildings, which still house an active pottery, are protected for their historic interest. Middleport Pottery is owned and operated by Re-Form Heritage.

Contents

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. [2]

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 1926-1931 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 status in the 1970s. [3] By this time six of the seven bottle ovens on the site had been demolished. The surviving bottle oven was given its own listing. [4] In 1988 the course of the Trent and Mersey Canal through Stoke-on-Trent was designated a linear conservation area.

Urban decay

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. [5]

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 and Historic England. 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 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. [6] 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, [7] made a return visit to help open the Studios in January 2016, including unveiling some signs. He also visited in 2017. [8]

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’ Community Champions Award.

Filming

It was the location for four series of The Great Pottery Throw Down , [9] and was featured in an episode of Peaky Blinders. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoke-upon-Trent</span> Human settlement in England

Stoke-upon-Trent, commonly called Stoke is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Burslem, Fenton, Longton and Tunstall form the city of Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoke-on-Trent</span> City and unitary authority in England

Stoke-on-Trent is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of 36 square miles (93 km2). In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire and is surrounded by the towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Alsager, Kidsgrove, Biddulph and Stone, which form a conurbation around the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digbeth</span> District in Birmingham, England

Digbeth is an area of Central Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment scheme that will regenerate the old industrial buildings into apartments, retail premises, offices and arts facilities. The district is considered to be Birmingham's 'Creative Quarter'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staffordshire Potteries</span> Historic ceramic-producing region within the present Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England

The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall, which is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of ceramic production in the early 17th century, due to the local availability of clay, salt, lead and coal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burslem</span> Human settlement in England

Burslem is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middleport, Staffordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Middleport is a residential and industrial district of the town of Burslem in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, England. Middleport lies to the west of Burslem, between Burslem town centre and the Newcastle-under-Lyme district of Porthill. To the north is Tunstall and to the south Cobridge and Etruria. Middleport conjoins Longport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poole Pottery</span>

Poole Pottery is a British pottery brand, now based in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England. As a company, it was founded in 1873 on Poole quayside in Dorset, where it continued to produce pottery by hand before moving its factory operations away from the quay in 1999. Production continued at a new site in Sopers Lane until its closure in 2006. The name is now a brand for products made in Staffordshire. Historical products from Poole Pottery are displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Etruria is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunstall, Staffordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Tunstall is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Hanley and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It was one of the original six towns that federated to form the city. Tunstall is the most northern, and fourth largest town of the Potteries. It is situated in the very northwest of the city borough, with its north and west boundaries being the city limit. It stands on a ridge of land between Fowlea Brook to the west and Scotia Brook to the east, surrounded by old tile making and brick making sites, some of which date back to the Middle Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Rhead</span>

Charlotte Rhead was an English ceramics designer active in the 1920s and the 1930s in the Potteries area of Staffordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longton, Staffordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Longton is one of the six towns which amalgamated to form the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910, along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Burslem and Stoke-upon-Trent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trentham, Staffordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Trentham is a suburb of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in North Staffordshire, England, south-west of the city centre and south of the neighbouring town of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is separated from the main urban area by open space and by the Trent and Mersey Canal and the River Trent, giving it the feel of a village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladstone Pottery Museum</span> Industrial museum in Staffordshire, England

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 century. It is a grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burleigh Pottery</span>

Burleigh Pottery is the name of a pottery manufacturer in Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent. The business specialises in traditionally decorated earthenware tableware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longport, Staffordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Longport is an area of Stoke-on-Trent, England. It is the location for Longbridge Hayes industrial estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliffe Vale, Staffordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Cliffe Vale is a district of the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and lies to the immediate south of Etruria and just east of Basford and Hartshill. Cliffe Vale is in the valley of the Fowlea Brook, now better known as Etruria Valley. There are industrial and employment uses along the A500, and new residential developments along the Trent and Mersey Canal. The Shelton New Road (B5045) passes through from east to west. The area is sometimes called Cliff Vale by the city council, and is part of the Hartshill electoral ward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedgwood Institute</span>

The Wedgwood Institute is a large red-brick building that stands in Queen Street, in the town of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It is sometimes called the Wedgwood Memorial Institute, but it is not to be confused with the former Wedgwood Memorial College in Barlaston. It achieved listed building status in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etruria Industrial Museum</span> Museum in Etruria, Staffordshire, England

The Etruria Industrial Museum is located in Etruria, Staffordshire, in England. The museum is a typical and well-preserved example of a nineteenth century British steam-powered potter's mill. It is situated between the Trent and Mersey Canal and the Etruria staircase locks of the Caldon Canal. The museum has a modern entrance building, leading into a Grade II* listed building which was formerly the Etruscan bone and flint mill. The mill is also a scheduled monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bottle oven</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westport Lake, Stoke-on-Trent</span> Body of water

Westport Lake is a lake and local nature reserve in Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England, about 0.8 miles (1.3 km) south of Tunstall. It is alongside the Trent and Mersey Canal.

References

  1. Middleport Pottery
  2. Stoke on Trent Historic Buildings Survey; Baker D: Potworks: London: 1991-: P.89-93).
  3. "Middleport Pottery (Burgess, Dorling & Leigh)" . Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  4. "Bottle Kiln at the Middleport Pottery". Listed buildings in SOT. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  5. "The Trent & Mersey Canal Conservation Area Review" (PDF). Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  6. "Middleport Pottery, Stoke-on-Trent". Historic England. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  7. "Prince Charles visits Middleport Pottery". BBC. 2013.
  8. Astle (2017). "Prince Charles & Duchess of Cornwall". Sentinel.
  9. Biswas, Shuvrajit Das (2020-09-17). "Where is The Great Pottery Throw Down Filmed? TV Show Filming Location". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  10. "Bonus scene from Peaky Blinders was filmed at Middleport Pottery". 24 September 2019.