Burleigh Ware (England) ceramics

Burleigh was founded in 1851 as Hulme & Booth in Burslem, Stafordshire, named after the founders, and then renamed ‘Burgess & Leigh’, after names of the new owners when the pottery changed hands in 1862. Until the 1920s, it primarily produced toiletware, but expanded its tableware ranges in the 1920s and 1930s, and these are regarded as the firm's golden years. The new brightly decorated, hand-painted and enamelled designs were very popular, with most patterns being designed by art director Harold Bennett. Other designers included Charles Wilkes, Ernest Baily and Charlotte Rhead who was employed from 1926 to 1931. Their range of jugs with sculptural handles in the form of animals, birds and figures are as popular with collectors today as they were with the 1930s public. The business was sold in 1999 and then again in 2010 when it was acquired by the company producing Denby Pottery.