Lemington Glass Works
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Lemington Glass Works was the site of glass production in Lemington, Newcastle upon Tyne for over 200 years. All that remains now is its iconic last glass cone, a famous local landmark.
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[edit] History
Lemington Glass Works were opened in 1787 by the Northumberland Glass Company in the village of Lemington. At first their four large cones produced flat glass. The location of the works was ideal for river transport and for local coal supplies but sand, alkali, and suitable clay for the melting pots, had to be brought in by sea and river. In 1837 three of the glasscones were demolished as the Northumberland Glass Company relenquished their ownership of the works. Between 1838 and 1845 the glass works was owned by Joseph Lamb & Co. After this period there was a decline in the glass industry and operations at Lemington were reduced. Between 1898 and 1906 the works were owned by Sowerby & Co. In 1906 ownership passed to the General Electric Company, who expanded the works and adapted it for the production of light bulbs and tubes. During the 1950s there was an introduction of new furnaces and machinery, followed by a decline, resulting in machine production being halted. In 1977 Amber Films made a film of the works, including various aspects of commercial glass manufacture, tube drawing by hand, the manufacture of a melting pot on the premises, and the pot changing process. The film is called ‘Glassworks'. In 1997 production of glass in the works was stopped and all buildings except for the cone were demolished.
[edit] The Glass Cone
The only surviving element of this former glassworks site is a large English-bond brick-built glass cone, standing over 35m high, and 21m diameter. To the south and west are five segmental arches, and two smaller arches to the north. A door has been inserted on the northwest side, and the cone is now used as a showroom by car manufacturers, Land Rover and a heating stove company. It is still owned by GB Glass Bulbs Ltd. and as well as the showroom there is a small museum of glass production at the works.[1] This imposing structure is one of the most important industrial monuments in the North East and is a Grade II* listed building. This particular cone was built in 1797 and was the largest of the work's four cones, having been constructed from about 1.75 million bricks. The survival of this cone is one of only four such survivals in the United Kingdom (the others can be found in Wordsley in the West Midlands, Catcliffe in South Yorkshire and Alloa in Scotland). The cone was cleaned and reappointed in 1993 by English Heritage and Newcastle City Council.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.timarchive2.freeuk.com/html/lemington.htm
- ^ http://sine.ncl.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=485
