Middleport Victorian pottery booms after Prince stepped in
Two years ago Britain’s last working Victorian pottery was at risk of closure, threatening 50 jobs and the sad end of what had been a proud British industry.
Today the Middleport Pottery, in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, is thriving. It employs more than 60 staff, a figure expected to rise to 100 by the end of the year, and four school leavers have been taken on as apprentices to learn its unique hand-applied skills.
Demand is strong for the handmade pottery – some designs go back 150 years – and the business is selling well in markets including China, Japan, South Korea and the US.
Royal approval: Prince Charles and Ros Kerslake visit the Pottery
The turnround follows an £8.5 million
regeneration by the Prince’s Regeneration Trust, funding for which was
raised through private donors, as well as the European Regional Development Fund, the Regional Growth Fund and
English Heritage.
The charity, set up in 2006 by Prince Charles, stepped in after owner Burgess Dorling and Leigh, part of Denby Holdings, fell into trouble in 2011.
The regeneration will give a
boost to local businesses. Realising the building the pottery occupies
was too big for its needs, PRT will convert more than 20,000 sq ft
into business units, which will be let out to small enterprises.
It will also open a visitor centre, cafe and community centre, all of which it hopes will create more opportunities for local firms.
Ros Kerslake, chief executive of the
Trust, is passionate about boosting business and economic regeneration,
particularly in deprived areas of the country.
She says: ‘Through the trust we focus
on areas with real need. The regeneration has created opportunities for
local firms and jobs for local people in an area with high
unemployment.
‘There is a strong community here who really want to see Stoke regenerated and creating stronger better businesses is key to this.’
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