The Middleport Pottery of Burgess and Leigh (opened 1888)  

 

 

 The offices & Showrooms

 

Locations 26-28 on the plan


Next: the factory shop
Previous: the works entrance
 

 

From the Archway entrance we enter the offices.

 

portrait of Edmund Leigh
Over an oak fireplace is a portrait of Edmund Leigh, 
 the son of the founder, who installed baths
 and basins for the workers in the factory basement.

 

Most pottery works would have a showroom to show prospective buyer the beauty 
of the finished ware that had been produced under such arduous conditions. 

Shelves of the company's distinctive Burleigh earthenware are displayed in a huge, 
glass-fronted cabinet that takes up one wall of the office area.

 

The finished Churchill Toby Jug
The finished Churchill Toby Jug		 The finished Art Deco vase
The finished Art Deco vase

 

We have arrived in the owners office and neared the end of the tour. 

 

 

The cupboards in the office are packed with notebooks inscribed with copper-plate writing.
The cupboards in the office are packed with notebooks inscribed with copper-plate writing. 		 One contains company brochures from 1912, and surprisingly a First World War helmet and an unopened bottle of Edwardian cough mixture.
One contains company brochures from 1912, and surprisingly a First World War helmet and an unopened bottle of Edwardian cough mixture.

 

in the old office safe we find a 1901 price list for Burgess and Leigh Ware
in the old office safe we find a 1901 price list for Burgess and Leigh Ware

 

1901 price list for Burgess and Leigh ware
1901 price list for Burgess and Leigh ware
Note the aerial 'view' of the factory with the many bottle kilns 

 


 Next: the factory shop 
Previous: the works entrance