Middleport Pottery

About the museum

Middleport Pottery was built in 1888 by Burgess & Leigh, a firm founded by William Leigh and Frederick Rathbone Burgess, and opened in 1889. It was laid out as a model pottery, with wide passageways between the ranges of buildings, a crane that loaded finished ware onto barges on the Trent and Mersey Canal, and a Boulton steam engine that powered the clay mixing until the 1970s. The site received listed status in the 1970s and is now Grade II* listed. By then six of its seven bottle ovens had been demolished.

Burgess & Leigh went bankrupt in 1999, and by 2010 the buildings were at serious risk of closing for good. The Prince's Regeneration Trust bought the site through an arrangement with the company's then owner and carried out a restoration costing about £9 million, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England. The pottery opened to the public in July 2014 after a three-year regeneration.

Today the site is owned and run by Re-Form Heritage. Burleigh, the pottery that has long been made on the site, continues production as a tenant. Visitors can take a guided factory tour, follow a self-guided heritage trail that includes the Mould Store and a 1950s lodge keeper's house on Harper Street, or watch a virtual factory tour. The site also has a café, a Burleigh shop and studios for makers. It has appeared as the setting for the television series The Great Pottery Throw Down.

Highlights

• Guided tours of the working Burleigh factory, from clay to cup
• Self-guided heritage trail with the Mould Store and a 1950s lodge keeper's house
• Grade II* Victorian pottery beside the Trent and Mersey Canal
• Packing House Café and Burleigh shop
• Free daytime mooring for narrowboats

Permanent exhibitions

• Heritage Trail – A self-guided route through the site, including the Mould Store and the 1950s lodge keeper's house on Harper Street.
• Burleigh Factory Tour – A guided tour of the working Burleigh factory showing how pottery is made, from raw clay to finished ware.

Founded

2014

Operated by

Re-Form Heritage

Admission & discounts

Adult and concession prices are sold through the online booking shop and were not published as text at the time of research. Concessions are available for people over 65 and for students with ID. Art Fund members can book discounted tickets by phone.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Outdoor areas have cobbles and gravel, but the site is wheelchair accessible and the Heritage Trail can be followed except for the Bath House. The Burgess Room has a lift, and the ground floor of the Packing House Café is accessible. There are several disabled toilets and a Changing Places toilet inside the Harper Street entrance. Disabled parking is beside Harper Street. The factory tour is not accessible, because of steps and the working factory, and a virtual factory tour is offered instead.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

The site promotes itself as a day out for all the family, with children's events such as Play with Clay, craft sessions and a Halloween ghost trail in school holidays. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Junior Explorers is a children's membership with free Play with Clay sessions.

Getting there & parking

Narrowboats can moor free of charge during the day. On foot or by bike, follow the Trent and Mersey Canal, cross Mill Bridge 125, turn left onto Milvale Street and continue along Port Street.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

The Packing House Café is on site and has indoor and outdoor seating. The Burleigh Shop sells Burleigh ware and opens Thursday to Sunday.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Weddings / ceremonies

Room hire is available, and weddings are being booked for 2027 and 2028.

Plan your visit