The museum is a typical and well-preserved example of a nineteenth century British steam-powered potter's mill.

There is a working steam engine called "Princess" dating from the 1820s, which was second-hand at the time the mill was built.

Much further restoration work was completed on the wider landscape setting of the mill in the mid-1980s, as part of the preparations for the national Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival.

The museum website advertises the days when the 1903 coal-fired boiler provides steam to operate "Princess", which then turns the grinding machinery.

Along with the Middleport section of the canal, the Etruria section is particularly important in terms of urban heritage, and the Mill site is immediately abutted by several other important historic sites: Access to vehicles is partly restricted due to weight restrictions on the canal bridges, and there is no through-traffic, making the large park-like area centred on the mill an attractive one for the residents of an increasingly gentrified Etruria.