Keep it long, treasure it long.

Burleigh Tableware: 160 Years of History and the Warmth of "Copper Plate Transfer"

Burleigh is a pottery brand born in 1851 (the Victorian era) in Stoke-on-Trent, England, one of the world's most famous centers of ceramics. Blessed with rich clay and a favorable climate, this region also gave rise to Wedgwood and Minton. From its early days, Burleigh expanded worldwide alongside its tableware, becoming a kiln maker admired by other manufacturers for its technical innovations that improved production efficiency and reduced waste and environmental pollution.

However, the two World Wars brought major changes to people's lifestyles and distribution systems, plunging the company into financial difficulty and leading its ownership to change hands many times over the years. Through all these hardships, Burleigh has continued to preserve the "copper plate transfer" technique. While several factories once used this method, today Burleigh is the only one in the world still practicing it, and the factory itself has been designated an important cultural property. Its tableware has even been presented to the British Museum and the royal family.

In this article, we introduce the "copper plate transfer" technique and the products it creates.

How Burleigh Products Are Made

Burleigh's appeal lies in the beauty of its "copper plate transfer" patterns and the fact that, for 160 years, each piece has been carefully made by hand by skilled craftspeople—truly MADE IN ENGLAND.

First, the raw materials. All the clay used is sourced from England. It is turned into a liquid form and poured into plaster molds made in-house at the factory to create unfired earthenware.

Once the unfired pieces are ready, workers smooth the surface with a sponge and attach parts such as pot spouts and cup handles entirely by hand.

This is the process of making the copper plates used to apply the patterns. Just imagining the process is enough to sense how difficult it is: patterns are hand-engraved onto rolled copper sheets using several kinds of needles. Remarkably, only two craftspeople currently engrave these copper plates, and it takes six weeks to complete just one.

Ink is applied to the finished copper plate, and the pattern is printed onto thin tissue paper.

Before the ink dries, the printed roll of paper is cut to fit the shape of each piece of pottery and applied by hand, transferring the pattern in a process much like printmaking. This step, too, requires true craftsmanship—fitting the paper precisely onto the uneven surface of the unfired pottery and rubbing it on without leaving any gaps in the pattern.

After the transfer, a glassy glaze is applied, and the piece is fired for a third time to complete the process. Since the pattern lies beneath the glaze, it is said to last virtually forever—a reassuring thought, considering all the steps involved in making it.

Having preserved this manufacturing method since its founding, Burleigh's tableware is not merely everyday goods—it is handcrafted work that has brought warmth and elegance into daily life for 160 years, and continues to do so today.

For Our Customers

Burleigh's tableware is completed entirely by hand, piece by piece. As pottery, no two items are exactly alike in pattern, color, or condition. We inspect each piece again in Japan after it has cleared the maker's quality standards before shipping it to you. Please understand in advance that this tableware differs from mass-produced, industrially manufactured items in terms of its qualities.

・On the underside of the plates, there are three spots where the glaze is missing. This is because, during firing, the plate is supported at three points by ceramic supports, and the glaze does not adhere at these contact points.
・These three spots may look like scratches, but they are a natural result of the manufacturing process.
・Ink may sometimes pool and appear as small clumps.
・Ink may pop during firing, leaving multiple small dots.

You may notice misaligned printing, breaks in the lines, variations in shading, or spots where the ink has skipped—please enjoy these as the charm of handmade work. They are proof of a manufacturing method that is now exceedingly rare.

Flowers Blooming on the Table

Every piece of Burleigh tableware features a beautiful design, but the blue floral pattern is the signature design of the popular Calico series. It is inspired by the image of a prunus blossom (a type of cherry blossom) fallen on ice, and being cherry-blossom-themed, it feels wonderfully familiar. The chic black-and-white Regal Peacock design depicts an elegant peacock and evokes a classic atmosphere. This series, which had not been produced for many years, was revived in 2014 and captures the charm of the Victorian era beautifully. There is also a set of four fruit plates that combines Calico, Regal Peacock, and Felicity designs. Even though the floral patterns and colors differ, they harmonize beautifully—perhaps thanks to the shared theme of nature running through them all.

Burleigh remains beloved even more than a hundred years after its founding. As these warm, inviting pieces of tableware grow ever more rare, they continue to brighten tables as if adorning them with flowers.

▷See the full lineup of Burleigh products here