Since before Middleport Pottery was even a twinkle in the eye of founders Burgess & Leigh, the Burleigh beehive and its bees have been the symbol of Burleigh pottery.
As the Burleigh company began to grow beyond its modest Staffordshire origins, the company moved from the Central Pottery to Hill Pottery in 1867, acquiring a number of moulds and engravings from the previous occupant, Samuel Alcock, in the process. Amongst these acquisitions was a backstamp which included the image of a beehive which the business immediately began incorporating into the backstamps used on Burleigh ceramics.
Ever since, the beehive has been a mainstay of the Burleigh brand, incorporated into many different backstamps across Burleigh products over the years.
Decades later, there was only one goal in mind when work started on the purpose-built Middleport Pottery: efficiency. Much like an actual beehive, every area of Middleport Pottery was designed to seamlessly flow into the next, making production as easy and practical as possible for the Burleigh staff. A marvel of modernity at its time, Middleport Pottery was so well designed that it is still the home of Burleigh to this day.
Still as much of a symbol of industrial perfection today as it was in our early days, Burleigh proudly displays the beehive, and its bees, throughout the business.