The glass collections on display at Broadfield Houses Glass Museum, and in store at Himley Hall, represent one of the finest holdings of British 18th, 19th and 20th century glass in the world. Numbering some ten thousand items, the Collection includes stunning examples from every major period of glass production in this country, the highlight being cameo glass, the speciality of Stourbridge factories at the end of the 19th century. The Museum has benefited from major bequests especially that of Michael Parkington which extended and completed Broadfield’s collection of 18th century glass. The Museum has also saved iconic collections including that of the great 20th century glass designer Alexander Hardie Williamson.
The Museum also owns important glass archive material e.g. pattern books from Stevens & Williams, Richardson’s and Thomas Webb & Sons, together with two major glass libraries from Robert J. Charleston, former Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and H. Jack Haden, a local historian who amassed a valuable collection of local Stourbridge material, as well as many other documents, letters, photographs and films.
The glass library owned by the Museum is one of the finest in the country and includes the complete microfiche catalogue of original glass catalogues owned by the Corning Museum of Glass in America, the only museum in this country to own this valuable research facility. Glass making equipment is collected to complement the glass and the archive collections. Notable pieces include the only surviving “Pull-Up” machine invented by John Northwood I in the 1880’s to decorate glass ware at Stevens & Williams, and a rare complete example of a Bohemian copper-wheel engraving lathe which was used by the great Joseph Keller. In the 1980’s the Museum rescued the foundations of an entire 17th century glass furnace from the estate of Sir Charles Wolseley near Rugeley, Staffordshire. Since it opened in 1980 Broadfield has pursued a vibrant and exciting policy of temporary exhibitions, often drawn from European and American collections and complements them with erudite and learned catalogues. This incredible combination of glass, archives, equipment and an active educational policy, justify Broadfield’s claim to be the “The Museum of The British Glass Industry”.
Even now, some 400 years after glassmaking began in Stourbridge, its work continues.
The British Glass Foundation is a new charity created in response to the prospective closure of Broadfield House Glass Museum.
The Foundation -
- seeks to represent all other charities, organisations and individuals that have an interest in preserving our glass heritage.
- continues to raise the profile of the importance, locally, nationally and internationally, of the Dudley glass collections and archives.
- aims to work closely in partnership with Dudley Council, the principal custodian of the glass collections, to accomplish its objectives.
- is exploring other means to provide access to the collections and is liaising with the University of Wolverhampton to produce a digital record of the collections and archive.
- will promote contemporary glass artists.
The Unique Importance Of Broadfield House Glass Museum
