Guest Speaker night 18th January 2023 Harrison Davies – New Stourbridge Glass Museum
From a personal perspective my only memory of Stourbridge and glass-making is one of a visit in the early 1980s from my home in Birmingham to buy Stuart Crystal from their factory shop – it was expensive but the finest you could get! I am ashamed to say that although I have now been living about ten miles from the area for the past thirty plus years, I have never taken the time out to revisit to appreciate the wonderful heritage of glass art and glass making on my doorstep. I was so pleased when Harrison agreed to come along and at the end of his presentation Harrison had certainly demonstrated what I had really been missing out on.
Harrison Davies, the Curator of the New Stourbridge Glass Museum, presented a wonderful history of glass making in the Stourbridge region.
Glass making in started in the 1600s when the Huguenots moved from France to settle in the area which was blessed with limestone, iron ore and coal – all the ingredients needed for the production of glass, together with a network of canals for safe & secure transportation of their delicate wares. Wrens Nest Nature Reserve rich in limestone is now a Geo-park under UNESCO. Starting as a small cottage industry the expertise of the Stourbridge Glass makers was celebrated across the land and the industry grew. By the start of the 1900s the Stourbridge Quarter was considered to have the finest glass craftsmen in the western world.
Harrison had lots of lovely stories to recount about the people who made the glass, including the spirit and determination displayed by the women who worked there.
A visit to the new Stourbridge Glass Museum is a must. There is a globally significant collection of glass together with the opportunity to see glass artists and producers working together, along with their mentor Allister Malcolm. You might even be tempted into trying your hand at glass-making yourself?
Please do check out their website: www.stourbridgeglassmuseum.org.uk
The presentation was so well received by the members that we are now looking to arrange a visit to the museum and to meet Harrison again. Please do email me or the Secretary if you are interested in going along. You won’t be disappointed.
Thank you for inviting me to speak to your members. It was an absolute joy to have such an interested group and it’s been lovely to have spotted some familiar faces visiting the museum since. Looking forward to welcoming your group to Stourbridge Glass Museum soon!
We were pleased to have you with us Harrison and look forward our group visit in the not too distant future.
Congratulations on your recent TV debut.