Middleport Pottery has been announced as a finalist for the Hospitality, Leisure & Tourism Award at the 2026 Staffordshire Chambers Business Awards, sponsored by Wilkinson Collective.
Sitting on the banks of the Trent and Mersey Canal in Stoke-on-Trent, Middleport Pottery is the UK’s last continuously operating Victorian potbank, home to Burleigh Pottery since 1888. Since Re-Form Heritage sensitively restored the Grade II*-listed site and opened it to the public in 2014, it has grown into an award-winning visitor destination welcoming over 50,000 people a year.
The offer continues to expand. A dedicated learning centre opened in April 2024, and the restored Harper Street terrace now houses a heritage attraction, creative studios and a community hub. A National Lottery Heritage Fund-backed Visitor Welcome Centre is due to open in 2026, improving accessibility and giving the gift shop a more prominent home.
Stuart Elford, Chief Executive of Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, said: “Middleport Pottery is one of Staffordshire’s most important heritage assets and one of its most thoughtfully run visitor attractions. The work that has gone into restoring and expanding the site while keeping it alive as a working pottery is extraordinary, and the planned Visitor Welcome Centre will only strengthen what is already a compelling destination. We are delighted to have them as a finalist.”
The winners will be revealed at a gala awards ceremony at Uttoxeter Racecourse on Thursday 9 July 2026, followed by The After Party, a late-night celebration for finalists, winners and partners.
To find out more about the 2026 Staffordshire Chambers Business Awards, visit staffordshirechambers.co.uk/awards.
