Burleigh Pottery
Burleigh Pottery is an English manufacturer of traditionally decorated earthenware tableware, made at the historic Middleport Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Burleigh Pottery, also known historically as Burgess & Leigh, is an English ceramics manufacturer based at Middleport Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent. The business is associated with traditionally decorated earthenware tableware and with the industrial heritage of the North Staffordshire pottery industry. Its factory occupies a nineteenth-century complex beside the Trent and Mersey Canal and is recognized as a Grade II* listed building. The site has also developed a public-facing role through a visitor centre and factory shop. The company began in 1851 at the Central Pottery in Burslem under the name Hulme and Booth. In 1862, William Leigh and Frederick Rathbone Burgess took over the business, which then traded as Burgess & Leigh. The later Burleigh name combines elements of the two family names and came into use as a trademark from the 1930s. The business moved first to the Hill Pottery in Burslem in 1868 and then to Middleport in 1889. The Middleport works was designed as a relatively modern and organized pottery complex for its period, contrasting with the crowded and irregular layouts of many older industrial sites. Burleigh's historical importance also rests on its design culture and technical continuity. The company acquired Davenport Pottery in 1887, gaining access in part to its moulds. Burleigh retained a substantial collection of historic moulds, some of which continued to be used in production. During the interwar period, the business experienced what is often regarded as its artistic golden age. Designers and artists associated with the factory included Harold Bennett, Charles Wilkes, Ernest Baily and Charlotte Rhead, whose work at the pottery from 1926 to 1931 was particularly noted for tubelining, a raised decorative technique. The firm expanded its export activity from the late twentieth century, initially concentrating on Empire and later Commonwealth markets as well as the United States, and subsequently placing greater emphasis on Europe. It experienced financial difficulties before being sold in 1999 to Rosemary and William Dorling. The business then traded as Burgess Dorling & Leigh. In 2010 it was acquired by Denby Holdings Ltd, the parent company of Denby Pottery, bringing Burleigh into the Denby group of ceramics businesses. The Middleport site has faced the wider pressures affecting traditional manufacturing districts. Its listed buildings and surviving bottle oven became part of broader conservation concerns, while the canal corridor was designated a linear Conservation Area in 1988 and was later placed on the Conservation Areas at Risk Register. A regeneration project supported by the Prince's Regeneration Trust and structured through a sale-and-leaseback arrangement sought to preserve the buildings while allowing pottery production to continue. In 2014, Prince Charles opened a visitor centre at the site. Today, Burleigh is best understood as both a tableware brand and a working industrial heritage enterprise. Its identity is built around English manufacture, historical patterns, earthenware production, archival moulds and the continued use of Middleport Pottery. The factory has also gained wider public visibility as a filming location for four series of The Great Pottery Throw Down and for an episode of Peaky Blinders. Current detailed information about leadership, financial performance and the full contemporary product range is not established by the supplied reference material.
History
Burleigh Pottery traces its origins to 1851, when Hulme and Booth established a pottery at the Central Pottery in Burslem, one of the principal manufacturing districts of Stoke-on-Trent. In 1862, William Leigh and Frederick Rathbone Burgess took control of the business. It thereafter operated under the name Burgess & Leigh, a name that remained central to the company's corporate identity for much of its history. The Burleigh trademark, formed from elements of the two surnames, was introduced in the 1930s. The company moved from its original works to the Hill Pottery in Burslem in 1868. In 1887 it acquired Davenport Pottery, an important transaction partly because of Davenport's moulds. Burleigh retained a noteworthy collection of historic moulds, allowing older forms and designs to remain part of a living manufacturing tradition rather than becoming solely museum objects. In 1889, the same year that William Leigh died, Burgess & Leigh moved to its present Middleport site beside the Trent and Mersey Canal. The factory was regarded at the time as a model pottery, with a scale and linear arrangement that reflected a more planned approach than the cramped and irregular works common in the older pottery districts. Ownership remained connected to the founding families for several decades. William Leigh was succeeded by his son Edmund Leigh, while Frederick Rathbone Burgess was succeeded by Richard Burgess. When Richard Burgess died in 1912, the business passed entirely into the Leigh family. In 1919 it was incorporated as Burgess & Leigh Limited. The period between the First and Second World Wars is commonly described as the company's artistic golden age. The factory employed or worked with designers and artists including Harold Bennett, Charles Wilkes and Ernest Baily. Charlotte Rhead, who worked at Burleigh from 1926 to 1931, became particularly associated with the company's tubelined decoration. By 1939 the factory employed more than 500 people, illustrating the scale of the enterprise within the regional ceramics economy. From the late 1980s the company developed a substantial export network. Its early international emphasis was on the Empire and later Commonwealth markets and the United States, with Europe becoming an additional focus. The business subsequently endured financial difficulties. In 1999 it was sold to Rosemary and William Dorling and adopted the trading name Burgess Dorling & Leigh. Denby Holdings Ltd acquired it in 2010, placing the pottery within the Denby family of companies. The Middleport complex became increasingly important as both a production site and a heritage asset. The buildings were listed during the 1970s, although six of the site's seven bottle ovens had already been demolished by that period; the surviving bottle oven received separate listing protection. In 1988 the section of the Trent and Mersey Canal passing through Stoke-on-Trent was designated a linear Conservation Area. Decline in traditional industries and urban deterioration later led English Heritage to place the canal Conservation Area on its at-risk register in 2010. A 2011 review also identified Middleport Pottery as a building at risk. The Prince's Regeneration Trust subsequently supported a scheme to renovate the complex while preserving its use as a working pottery. The project used a sale-and-leaseback structure involving the United Kingdom Historic Building Preservation Trust. In 2014, Prince Charles opened a visitor centre at the site. The factory's public profile was further strengthened by its use as the setting for four series of The Great Pottery Throw Down and by its appearance in an episode of Peaky Blinders. Burleigh therefore occupies a dual position: it is a producer of traditionally decorated earthenware and a surviving example of the integrated industrial pottery works that shaped Stoke-on-Trent.
- 2014
Visitor centre opened
[1]Prince Charles opened a visitor centre at the regenerated Middleport Pottery site.
- 2010
Acquired by Denby Holdings
[1]Denby Holdings Ltd acquired Burleigh Pottery and brought it into the Denby group.
- 1999
Ownership changes to the Dorlings
[1]Following financial difficulties, the business was sold to Rosemary and William Dorling and traded as Burgess Dorling & Leigh.
- 1988
Canal corridor becomes a Conservation Area
[1]The Trent and Mersey Canal route through Stoke-on-Trent was designated a linear Conservation Area.
- 1939
Factory workforce exceeds 500
[1]The Middleport factory employed more than 500 people by the beginning of the Second World War.
- 1930
Burleigh trademark enters use
[1]The Burleigh trademark began to be used during the 1930s, deriving its name from Burgess and Leigh.
- 1919
Incorporated as Burgess & Leigh Limited
[1]The business became a private limited company under the name Burgess & Leigh Limited.
- 1889
Middleport Pottery opens
[1]Burgess & Leigh moved to the newly built Middleport factory beside the Trent and Mersey Canal.
- 1887
Davenport Pottery acquired
[1]The acquisition brought Davenport's moulds into the business and contributed to Burleigh's continuing archive of historic forms.
- 1868
Move to the Hill Pottery
[1]The company moved from its original Central Pottery works to the Hill Pottery in Burslem.
Products and positioning
A heritage English pottery brand combining traditional earthenware tableware, historic decoration, archival moulds and continued production at a listed Stoke-on-Trent factory.
Tableware · 1851
Decorated earthenware tableware
Burleigh's core output is traditionally decorated earthenware for domestic dining and serving. The brand's identity is associated with patterned ceramic forms made at Middleport Pottery, combining established Stoke-on-Trent production methods with decorative traditions developed over the company's long history.
Ceramic forms and tableware · 1887
Historic mould-based forms
The company is known for retaining historic moulds, including moulds obtained through the 1887 acquisition of Davenport Pottery. These moulds support the continuation of older shapes and provide a tangible link between present production and the industrial design history of the Staffordshire pottery trade.
Decorated ceramics · 1926
Tubelined decorative wares
Tubelining is a raised decoration technique associated with the work of Charlotte Rhead during her period at Burleigh from 1926 to 1931. It forms part of the company's interwar design heritage and illustrates the role of specialist artists in shaping Burleigh's historical aesthetic.
Brand decisions
2014
Preserve Middleport as a working potteryStrategyBackground
The listed Middleport buildings faced conservation concerns amid the decline of traditional industries and wider urban deterioration in the canal area.
Action taken
A regeneration scheme supported by the Prince's Regeneration Trust used a sale-and-leaseback structure to renovate the complex while retaining pottery production and adding visitor facilities.
Aftermath
The visitor centre opened in 2014, strengthening the site's role as both a manufacturing facility and an industrial heritage destination.
2010
Join the Denby groupM&ABackground
After financial difficulties and a period under the ownership of Rosemary and William Dorling, Burleigh required a new ownership structure.
Action taken
Denby Holdings Ltd acquired the business and made Burleigh part of the Denby family of companies.
Aftermath
The acquisition connected the historic Burleigh brand with Denby's wider ceramics group while the Middleport site continued to function as a pottery.
Sources1 sources
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