Moorcroft Heritage Visitor Centre and Museum

About the museum

Moorcroft pottery began in 1897, when William Moorcroft joined the Staffordshire firm James Macintyre and Co. as a designer. On 22 April 1913 he set up his own company, W. Moorcroft Ltd, and moved his team to a new factory on Sandbach Road in Burslem. The factory was built on one level, like an artist's studio, in contrast to many darker and more cramped potteries of the time.

The factory originally had several bottle ovens. Today the largest, built in 1919, remains and is a Grade II listed building. Visitors can step inside it, and storyboards around it explain how bottle ovens were used. Pottery is still made by hand on the site using methods that have changed little in a century.

The Moorcroft Museum inside the Heritage Visitor Centre holds what the company describes as the world's largest collection of Moorcroft, shown in Liberty cabinets. It leads from Art Nouveau and Art Deco pieces to current designs, and includes work made at James Macintyre and Co. The visitor centre also has a shop, a short film on how Moorcroft is made and, by booking, guided tours of the working factory.

Highlights

• World's largest collection of Moorcroft pottery
• Grade II listed bottle oven that visitors can enter
• Guided tour of the working factory (booking required)
• Pieces from the James Macintyre period
• Shop with the full range of handmade Moorcroft

Permanent exhibitions

• Moorcroft Museum – Moorcroft pottery in historic cabinets, from Art Nouveau and Art Deco to current designs, including work from James Macintyre and Co.
• Bottle oven and storyboards – The listed bottle oven can be entered, and storyboards explain how bottle ovens were used for firing pottery.

Founded

1989

Operated by

Moorcroft Pottery

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Entry to the shop, car park, museum and bottle oven is free. Factory tours are charged separately.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• 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

Entry is step-free, and a wheelchair is available on request. A hearing loop is installed. The car park has a gravel surface and the floor in the visitor centre includes uneven cobblestones, so wheelchair users may find some areas difficult. Three metal steps with handrails lead into the bottle oven. Three of the 22 car park spaces are reserved for disabled drivers. Guided factory tours are on one level and are accessible to wheelchair users.

Kids & families

The factory tour is open to children from the age of 11.

Getting there & parking

There is no bus stop directly outside the visitor centre.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

The visitor centre shop sells the full range of handmade Moorcroft pottery, cards and books.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit