Topics > Industry and Work > Glass Making > Lemington Glass Works (1787-1997)

Lemington Glass Works (1787-1997)


 

Lemington Glass Works was the site of glass production in Lemington, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, for over 200 years. All that remains now is its iconic last glass cone, a famous local landmark.

History

Lemington Glass Works were opened in 1787 by the Northumberland Glass Company in the village of Lemington west of Newcastle upon Tyne. The land was leased to them by the Duke of Northumberland. At first their four large cones only produced flat glass. The location of the works was ideal for local coal supplies, with the North Wylam to Lemington Point Waggonway running within very close proximity to the works. It was also situated beside the River Tyne (prior to its rerouting in 1876) which made it easy to bring sand, alkali, and suitable clay for the melting pots to the works. In 1837 three of the glass cones were demolished as the Northumberland Glass Company relinquished their ownership of the works. Between 1838 and 1845 the glass works were owned by Joseph Lamb & Co. After this period there was a decline in the glass industry and operations at Lemington were further reduced. Between 1898 and 1906 the works were owned by Sowerby & Co, which led to full scale glass production being reinstated in the works. In 1906 ownership passed to the General Electric Company, who expanded the works and adapted it for the production of light bulbs and glass tubes. During the 1950s there was an introduction of new furnaces and machinery, followed by another decline, resulting in machine production being halted. In 1977 Amber Films made a film of the works called "Glassworks", which included various aspects of commercial glass manufacture; tube drawing by hand, the manufacture of a melting pot on the premises, and the dramatic pot changing process. In 1997 production of glass in the works was stopped. It was the last working glassworks of its type. With closure, all buildings except for the cone were demolished.

The Glass Cone

The only surviving element of the former glassworks site is a large English bond brick-built glass cone, standing over high, and in diameter. This particular cone was built in 1797 and was the largest of the works' four cones, having been constructed from an estimated 1.75 million bricks. In the south and west sides of the cone are five segmental arches, with two smaller arches to the north. A door has been inserted on the northwest side because the cone is now used as a showroom by car manufacturer Land Rover and Stanegate Stoves. It is still owned by GB Glass Bulbs Ltd. This imposing structure is one of the most important industrial monuments in the North East and is Grade II* listed on the National Heritage List for England. The survival of this cone is one of only four such survivals in the United Kingdom. The other surviving cones 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.

Text from Wikipedia, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (accessed: 25/06/2018).
Visit the page: Lemington Glass Works for references and further details. You can contribute to this article on Wikipedia.

Glass Making Lemington 1787 Historic Buildings and Monuments in Newcastle Grade II* Listed
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
578787:Cross Row Lemington Unknown Undated

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
056386:Lemington Glass Works Lemington Unknown c.1920s

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from http://www.lemingtoncentre.co…
Lemington Glass Works
- "Glass making was first recorded in Newcastle in 1619 and was to become the second most important industry on Tyneside after coal. In 1787 the Northumberland Glass Company erected four …

Added by
Simon Cotterill
from Flickr (flickr)
Lemington 01

Pinned by Pat Thomson
from Flickr (flickr)
GEC Works

Pinned by Pat Thomson
from Flickr (flickr)
Hadrian's Wall Walk

Pinned by Pat Thomson
from Flickr (flickr)
Lemington glassworks

Pinned by Pat Thomson
from Flickr (flickr)
Lemington glassworks

Pinned by Pat Thomson
from Youtube (youtube)
Lemington Glass Works by Elsie Marshall

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from http://www.twsitelines.info/s…
HER(4035): Lemington Glass Works
- "Lemington Glass Works. The works were opened in 1787 by the Northumberland Glass Company. Initially flat glass was produced from 4 large glass cones. In 1906 the site was purchased …

Added by
Simon Cotterill
from Youtube (youtube)
Glassworks (1977)

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Geograph (geograph)
Lemingon Glassworks Cone (detail)

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Geograph (geograph)
Lemington Gut

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Geograph (geograph)
Car showroom, Lemington Glassworks

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Geograph (geograph)
Lemington Glasworks Cone & former Power Station across Lemington Gut

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Geograph (geograph)
Percy Pit Local Nature Reserve

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from https://historicengland.org.u…
LEMINGTON CONE - List Entry
- "Glassworks, now factory. Circa 1787 for the Northumberland Glass Company. English bond brick; renewed uppermost courses. Tall cone with 5 large segmental arches visible on west and south sides, 2 …

Added by
Simon Cotterill
from Flickr (flickr)
Day 6 - Walking Hadrian's Wall

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Flickr (flickr)
lemington glass works

Pinned by Pat Thomson
from Flickr (flickr)
Lemington Glass Works

Pinned by Pat Thomson
from Flickr (flickr)
LE00285

Pinned by Pat Thomson
from https://vimeo.com/178166299
Glassworks (1977)
- "A documentary film about a Tyneside factory which specialised in handmade industrial glass, from fine capillary tubes to carboys. It explores the work at the factory in Lemington and the …

Added by
Simon Cotterill

Comments

Add a comment or share a memory.

Login to add a comment. Sign-up if you don't already have an account.



List number: 1299389
List grade: 2*
Tyne & Wear HER: 4035
Wikipedia: Lemington Glass Wor…
Borough: Newcastle
Grid ref: NZ1836164572

ABOUT US

Co-Curate is a project which brings together online collections, museums, universities, schools and community groups to make and re-make stories and images from North East England and Cumbria. Co-Curate is a trans-disciplinary project that will open up 'official' museum and 'un-officia'l co-created community-based collections and archives through innovative collaborative approaches using social media and open archives/data.

LATEST SHARED RESOURCES