Wias Published Quarterly Newsletter
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WARWICKSHIRE Industrial Archaeology Society NUMBER 41 April 2011 WIAS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN recent WIAS meeting There was much talk of fund- tors (from dedicated industrial looked at the history of ing, and one of the workshop archaeologist to casual passers- A brewing in Warwick- groups sought to explore ways by), but also in utilising the fa- shire, including the rise (and in of raising money in a period cilities of the site for a variety of some cases, fall) of a variety of of economic austerity. Other other activities in order to boost micro-breweries in more recent groups looked at the specific revenue. The original museum times. These were themes ex- problems associated with the was very much related to the plored in a national context at fabric of brewery buildings Bass company, and one of the two recent events at the National that made adaptive re-use more issues discussed was the possi- Brewery Centre in Burton on or less difficult. Issues such as bility of bringing historical ma- Trent. ‘the need for compromise’, ‘the terial from other breweries onto Saturday March 12th marked new economy’, ‘localism’, ‘co- this site in order to develop the the launch of a report on Eng- operative ventures’, the ‘Big concept of a national brewing land’s brewing heritage pre- Society’ all received an airing, centre. pared by Dr. Lynn Pearson and as well as much discussion of The Centre deserves our sup- the Brewery History Society the role and future of the micro- port as visitors, and I would as part of English Heritage’s brewing sector. heartily recommend it to you. At SHIER (Strategy for the His- Also of great interest was lunch, I also met a volunteer from toric Industrial Environment a presentation by Cordelia the (nearby) Claymills Victorian Reports) programme, and on Mellor-Whiting, curator of the Pumping station – and she ar- the following Thursday a con- National Brewery Centre, and gued strongly for a dual site visit ference was organised to look the efforts involved in trying to to make the most of a day trip to at some of the issues raised by make the Centre a going con- Burton on Trent! www.nation- the potential regeneration of old cern after a two-year period albrewerycentre.co.uk. 01283 brewery buildings. of closure. The land, buildings 532880 and www.claymills.org. I could not attend the Satur- and many of the artefacts are all uk.+ 01283 509929 day conference but managed owned by the parent US brew- to squeeze myself into the re- ing company – Molson Coors Martin Green generation seminar, and greatly – and they lease the Centre to enjoyed the experience of lis- the current operators – Plant tening to professionals talking Solutions Ltd (a company spe- PROGRAMME about some of the issues raised cialising in visitor attractions). by potential regeneration. The With the site in private hands, April 14th 2011 AIA was well represented with this presents interesting issues Tim Booth: Warwickshire Mills, news of research Tony Crosby (Chairman, AIA) over funding – Heritage Lottery and updates on the state of various and Amber Patrick (Endan- funds, for example, would be mills in the county gered Sites Officer, AIA), who difficult to secure because those May 12th 2011 had already done much pio- funds need to directly linked to Members Evening: neering work on the recording public (rather than private) ben- a chance for several short of maltings), with Keith Fal- efit. As with so many museums contributions from members coner (Head of Industrial Ar- of this type the skill of the cura- June 9th 2011 chaeology at English Heritage) tor not only lies in making the Damien Kimberley, of Coventry delivering a keynote address on museum itself an attractive op- Transport Museum: the brewing industry’s SHIER. tion to a range of potential visi- The Coventry motor-cycle industry WIAS Meeting Reports January 2011: Sarah Chubb, Sandwell Borough Archivist Chance Brothers: glassmakers of Smethwick arah Chubb, of the Sandwell Community History some 2,400 lenses to over 80 countries. & Archives Service, gave us a new perspective Chance created a coloured and ornamental glass Son Industrial Archaeology, that of a professional department in 1848 under Bontemps although this lasted archivist. Whilst amongst members there is a considerable only until 1866. A licence was taken out in 1852 for the amount of knowledge concerning the activities of Chance use of the Mason and Conqueror machine to produce Brothers of Smethwick and their expertise in many fields of rolled glass. Chance developed the process into a double glass manufacture, few have had experience of the behind rolling machine for the lamination of glass between the scenes work needed to preserve company records for rollers and using a second pair of rollers to imprint a posterity. And the Chance Brothers archive is undoubtedly pattern on the glass. This double rolling process was used an important record. to create a range of white and tinted figured/cathedral Sandwell is one of the four Black Country Authorities glasses. and includes the towns of Oldbury, Rowley Regis, As with many of their contemporaries, the Chances Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury and West Bromwich. became involved in civic affairs and in 1900 a baronetcy Consequently, there is a rich industrial past that needs to was created for James Timmins Chance be conserved. Engineering, chemicals, brewing and steel Advanced technology was never neglected; using the as well as glass-making have all taken advantage of the pioneering work of Sir William Crookes, Chance perfected area’s natural resources and skilled workers. optical glass that blocked harmful UV rays and indeed The Chances were a yeoman family whose members used the Crookes name as a trade mark into the 1960s. included both farmers and craftsmen. In 1824 Robert Chance also developed, in the 1930s, the manufacturing Lucas Chance, bought the glassworks of the British Crown technology needed for cathode ray tubes – just in time for Glass Company in Spon Lane, which specialised in making their widespread use in radar during the war. A 22” tube blown window glass was exhibited at the 1938 Berlin Radio Show. Prior to this, Chance had worked at the Nailsea Chance played an important role during WW2 supplying glassworks near Bristol, owned by his father William optical glass for telescope and binocular lenses, Aldis Chance where he was affectionally known as a twelve year lamps, Crookes UV lenses and special dark-lensed goggles old as the little master in the jacket. John Hartley, a crown for night fighter crews. Many of these items were produced glass expert, became a partner of the company in 1828 in a shadow factory jointly owned with Pilkington. after being brought from the Nailsea glassworks. Robert’s In 1945 Pilkington acquired a 50% shareholding in the brother, William became a partner three years later. In company but the Chance operation continued to be largely 1832, Chance introduced the blown glass cylinder method separately managed and a factory was established in for the production of sheet glass and opened a chemical Malvern, Worcestershire in 1947 to specialise in laboratory works at Oldbury in 1835 to supply the chemicals required glass. The operation was incorporated as an arms-length for glass manufacture. Following the death of John Hartley subsidiary under the old name Chance Brothers Ltd. in 1833, the company was renamed ‘Chance Brothers’. In 1948 the Malvern plant produced the world’s first The early Victorian era saw an explosive growth interchangeable syringe. When plastic disposable syringes amongst the aristocracy and wealthy for ostentatious displaced glass in the late 1960s, the range of its precision glazed buildings to house exotic plant collections and to bore product was diversified. provide year-round fruit for the table. Joseph Paxton’s great By the end of 1952 Pilkington had assumed full financial glasshouse at Chatsworth was the forerunner of the Crystal control of Chance Brothers, but did not become actively Palace built in 1851 to house the Great Exhibition. Chance involved in its management until later. Subsequently, the Brothers secured the glazing contracts for both buildings lighthouse works was sold in 1954, the optical division from which flowed other prestigious work, including relocated to St Asaph in 1957, the Glasgow works closed in glazing for the new Houses of Parliament (the opal glass 1964, the rolled-plate division in 1976 and finally in 1981 for the four faces of the Westminster Clock was unique the Spon Lane site was closed. The seven-storey listed to Chance) and the ornamental windows for the White building still stands alongside the M5 motorway but it is in House in Washington. Other products included stained a poor state of repair. glass windows, ornamental lamp shades, microscope glass Sarah closed her talk with a review of the work undertaken slides, painted glassware, glass tubing and other specialist by her department and shared some of the interesting finds types of glass. that had been made. The extensive family papers, lodged Chance Brothers exhibited at the Great Exhibition and in the Sandwell Borough Archive in 1990, confirmed the archive includes copies of the catalogue. The exhibits the family’s involvement in civic affairs. The bulk of the showed their expertise extending from ultra-thin glass for business archive had gone to Pilkington who eventually microscope slides to complex lenses for lighthouses. This released the material to Sandwell where it now occupies expertise owed much to Frenchman Georges Bontemps some 30 cubic metres in 60 bays of shelving. and his fellow countrymen who had come to work in There are immediate issues to be addressed; original Smethwick.