Middleport Pottery's history is moved to new Stoke home
THOUSANDS of historic pottery moulds and cases are being painstakingly transferred across the city.
The Grade II-listed Middleport Pottery is currently home to around 19,000 moulds and cases, some of which are believed to date back to the 1800s.
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Some of the Middleport Pottery moulds and cases.
They are now being transferred to part of the old Spode site in Stoke so the Prince's Regeneration Trust (PRT), which has embarked on a multi-million pound transformation of the Victorian pottery, can start the cataloguing process.
The unique collection has been built up by Burleigh-maker Burgess, Dorling and Leigh, which moved to Middleport in 1889 and is still based at the factory.
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PRT project manager Harry Wardill said: "The factory was built in 1888 but part of the collection pre-dates that because Burgess, Dorling and Leigh was founded some years before.
"It's absolutely fascinating." The PRT secured Middleport Pottery's future last year with a £7.5 million investment.
Fifty jobs were safeguarded at Burgess, Dorling and Leigh and work is now under way to create an interactive visitor centre, gallery, factory shop and cafe.
The Sentinel reported in July that the PRT had landed £1.5 million of lottery cash to help tell the story of Middleport Pottery, which includes cataloguing the moulds and cases.
Harry said: "They are currently in a second-floor room of a very old building, and we need to move them so we can do some repairs. We have managed to secure part of the old Spode site for a peppercorn rent through the city council.
"We thought the move would take about eight weeks but that's now looking more like 12."
It is thought the cataloguing will take about 18 months to two years.
Harry said: "Everyone is very excited about what we might find.
"Once the moulds have been catalogued they are going to come back and be housed on the ground floor in a purpose-built store.
"That will be open to the public as part of our heritage project."
Burgess, Dorling and Leigh's current mould-maker, John Machin, has been with the firm for more than 30 years.
Harry said: "John is a very highly-skilled craftsman and he's the person who knows most about what's there.
"Some of the moulds were bought from other firms but the majority relate to Burgess, Dorling and Leigh, so it's a unique collection. I would say its probably the most complete and potentially the biggest in the world."
Funding for the project has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
HLF chief executive Carole Souter said: "These moulds are nationally important heritage which are also fundamental to understanding the history of Stoke-on-Trent and the Potteries."
Comments
by Dizzy1960
Tuesday, October 02 2012, 7:27PM
“@Belgraveman
I'm simply asking what benefits this will bring Stoke-upon-Trent as a town as a whole. It's not a leading question or a question negating the Princes Trust investment or even the article, I'm simply asking, "What benefit it will be to the town of Stoke-upon-Trent"?”
by Belgraveman
Tuesday, October 02 2012, 2:16PM
“Dizzy 1960 - It's not clear what you are referring to. Is it....
the work being carried out by the Prince's Regeneration Trust? the cataloguing of the thousands of old Burleigh moulds? the use of Heritage Lottery Funds? the transferring of the moulds to Spode while improvements are made to the Burleigh building? the development of Burleigh as a major tourist destination in the city?
I'm not a councillor, but I would be very interested to receive clarification since you appear to have some sort of problem with the contents of this article.”
by Dizzy1960
Tuesday, October 02 2012, 1:03PM
“And the benefits to the residents and businesses of Stoke-upon-Trent will be?
Eagerly awaiting a Councillors response.”