Lemington Glass Works

HER Number:
4035

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
Lemington Glass Works

Place:
Lemington

Map Sheet:
NZ16SE

Class:
Industrial

Site Type: Broad:
Glassmaking Site

Site Type: Specific:
Glass Works

General Period:
Post Medieval

Specific Period:
C18

Form of Evidence:
Structure

Description:
The glassworks site was leased from the Duke of Northumberland by a group of local businessmen under the name of the Northumberland Glass Company in 1787. Initially flat glass was produced from 4 large glass cones. This company owned the glassworks until 1837 when three of the glass houses were demolished, leaving the huge cone which is still in existence. From 1833 to 1845 the works were operated by Joseph Lamb and Company but after this date there seems to have been a depression in the glass trade for many years and full scale operations were not carried out until about 1898 when the famous glassmaking firm of George Sowerby and Sons took over and trade picked up, with the result that by 1906 the works were again a prosperous concern. In 1906 the site was purchased from the Duke of Northumberland by GEC, who expanded the works and fitted it out for production of light bulbs and tubes. The remaining cone, which stands 120 feet high is one of only four such survivals in the country. It was cleaned and repointed in 1993. Local legend has it that the cone was made from 1 million bricks. LISTED GRADE 2*

Easting:
1837

Northing:
6455

Grid Reference:
NZ18376455

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 4035 >> 1st edition Ordnance Survey Map, 1864, 6 inch scale, Northumberland, 97 J. Armstrong, History of Newburn I. Ayris & S.M. Linsley, 1994, A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Tyne and Wear, p 47 C. Bray, Tyne and Wear County Council Museums Service 1972, A Brief History of Glass Making on Tyneside F. Buckley, Glasshouses on the Tyne in the Eighteenth Century, Journal of the Society of Glass Technology F. Atkinson, Industrial Archaeology - Top Ten Sites in North East England, p 15,26-27 RCHME, 1993, Lemington Glass Cone, Historic Building Report Northern Counties Archaeological Services, 1997, Lemington Glass Cone, Archaeological Desk Top Assessment Northern Counties Archaeological Services, 1997, Lemington Glass Cone, Annealing Ovens, Archaeological Recording and Evaluation