Britain’s Prince Charles is "extremely proud" of the newly-revamped Middleport Pottery factory.
The 65-year-old royal visited the historic site in Stoke-on-Trent is Staffordshire, England, yesterday (24.06.14) to witness firsthand the £9 million restoration project that The Prince’s Regeneration Trust (PRT) helped undertake.
The grade II-listed site was saved from closure in 2011 when the trust, spearheaded by Charles, embarked on a three-year mission to restore the 125-year-old home of traditional Burleigh Pottery to its former glory and prevent job losses.
As he officially unveiled the site, The Stoke Sentinel reports that Charles said: "Stoke-on-Trent is the cradle of the British ceramics industry, and the contribution made to this country by the Potteries is enormous, so I am absolutely thrilled that this pottery is alive and breathing once again."
"While traditional crafts and unique skills have been returned and historic buildings and machinery have been preserved for future generations to enjoy, we now hope to bring the steam engine back into use and also build a bridge over the canal to make it more accessible to people."
"When English Heritage approached my trust about the imminent closure of this world-famous company, and the seemingly inevitable break-up of its workforce, the loss of traditional skills and the destruction of so many industrial artefacts and archives, including the unique collection of moulds, I was determined that this could not be allowed to happen."
Charles made a splash by arriving at the factory on board a canal boat named The Lindsay and was welcomed by factory workers, the Haywood Academy’s band, and local school children.
The project has created new facilities for visitors including an exhibition gallery, a shop and a café, as well as a state-of-the-art workshop and vacant office spaces.
Prince Charles proud of Middleport Pottery revamp
