Re-Form Heritage An independent Stoke-on-Trent based charity which specialises in the restoration and rejuvenation of heritage buildings at risk of decay or demolition. Re-Form Heritage’s objective is to transform these historic buildings into local assets, creating job opportunities and catalysing wider social and economic benefit.
Re-Form Heritage owns and manages Middleport Pottery in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. Middleport Pottery was built by Burgess and Leigh in the late nineteenth century and is the home of Burleigh pottery. It is the oldest working pottery in the United Kingdom. The pottery was acquired by the charity in 2011 through a mixture of public and private funding and was fully restored by the charity and opened to the public in 2014.
The business developed by Re-Form Heritage ensures the long-term sustainability of the site, which, in addition to the production of the Burleigh pottery range, encompasses heritage and craft-based operations, including a visitor centre, café and other activities. Middleport Pottery is a model for future regeneration and preservation projects, having a significant and beneficial impact on the local community.
Current appeal:
Bottle kiln makeover!
Our beloved kiln was fired in the late nineteenth century and continued working until the 1960s. Middleport Pottery is a Grade II* listed building, and the older the buildings are, the less watertight they are compared to modern structures. They are made from softer materials like lime, and once vegetation gets into nooks and crevices, they destroy brick and stone. Over the period when the bottle kiln was being fired up, it destroyed any plant seeds attaching themselves to the brickwork, which protected it from vegetation growth; with no firing, it lost its mechanism to defend its structure. I know we all love plant life, and it may look quaint when looking at the kiln, but now it has started to attract more water into the fabric of the building, and the seeds are growing, creating roots that are harming our beloved kiln.
We are on a mission to remove the vegetation outside the bottle kiln; we need your support to help us raise £1600.Click here to find out more
Words from our volunteers and visitors"Middleport Pottery is a second home to me. Having Paintresses, a Cup Handler, a Lithographer, a Cod Placer and even a Saggar-Makers-Bottom-Knocker in my ancestry, the pottery industry and the Middleport Pottery factory brings me closer to family members whom I was never able to meet. Now as a volunteer, I feel proud to be continuing their stories and sharing local heritage for future generations" - Volunteer
"Stoke-on-Trent had a huge impact on the world a hundred years ago. Middleport Pottery is making sure that people remember our important heritage.... As someone born in Stoke that makes me very proud." - Visitor
"I feel that we are providing a tangible insight into the past for the public to see and understand what it was like back in the day and how things were done then... I for one am proud to be part of the team as we educate and inform our guests as to the old ways of canal life." - Volunteer
"Having been to Middleport Pottery a number of times, I have seen it develop into a wonderful history lesson of what made the Potteries so successful in the past but also how, with its ability to showcase its activities and protect a valuable site, it has become an important part of the new Potteries." - Visitor