The Middleport Pottery Collection

Middleport Pottery was built by Burgess and Leigh in the late nineteenth century. The Grade II* listed site is the UK’s last working Victorian pottery in continuous production, and it remains home to world-famous ‘Burleigh’ pottery today.

Through public and private funding, Middleport Pottery was saved from closure by Re-Form Heritage and underwent substantial remodelling and renovation between 2011 and 2014, transforming it into a heritage site, visitor attraction and centre for creative businesses.

The Middleport Pottery collection is a unique survival, comprising of an extensive collection of Burgess and Leigh ceramics, and an archive stretching back to the founding of the company and the building of Middleport Pottery. Below is a small selection of the more than 50,000 objects and documents in the collection. The collection will open to external research visits in 2022; more details will be available when our Harper Street research centre opens next year.