Nailsea Glass

In the 18th century in Britain there was a heavy tax on Flint Glass for a hundred years until 1845. Excise men were employed by the Government to inspect the factories to make sure the tax was being paid and factories had to choose whether they made Flint Glass or only bottle glass and crown (window) glass, which were not taxed.

For a period glassworks in England were not allowed to make Flint Glass as well as non-flint glass. This was a time of huge increases in demand for both windows and bottles and many factories sprang up to meet the demand.

By now the industrial revolution was in full swing and another English invention was the glass cone. The cone was the glasshouse but was shaped in such a way that it acted as a chimney to remove unpleasant gases and make working conditions considerably more bearable.

It is uncertain when glassmaking first started in Nailsea but Nailsea Crown Glass and Bottle Manufacturers "The Nailsea Glassworks" was one of the new factories that opened in this glass boom. Set up by John Lucas in 1788 the cones were fuelled by the coal that had been mined here since medieval times. A number of glass cones were built by John Lucas and his contemporaries in Nailsea and while none survive, there are a several photographs of the glasshouses when they still stood at the top of the 'village' High Street.

A few very similar cones dating from the 17th and 18th century have been preserved notably one at Stourbridge at Stuart Crystal Company, one at the Alloa glass works of United Glass Ltd, and one at Catcliffe near Sheffield.

Nailsea Crown Glass and Bottle Manufacturers

The cone at Catcliffe c1740

Nailsea Crown Glass and Bottle Manufacturers

Nailsea Glass became widely used and by the 1830's the glassworks had expanded to become one of the four largest in the country. That was until coal supplies began to dwindle and the glassworks eventually closed in 1874.

Because of the heavy duty on Flint Glass, it was common practice for bottle factories to make tableware out of bottle or window glass, and to decorate it very simply with white dots or lines to make it more acceptable.

The Nailsea Crown Glass and Bottle Manufacturers were one amongst many who made this kind of glass.

These decorative and domestic items were not however, the main stream glass goods produced in Nailsea, they were mostly apprentice pieces and "friggers" made by the workers with left over glass at the end of the day.

However, the high quality of the Nailsea produced items resulted in the Nailsea name being given this style of glassware even though very little was actually made here, the majority having been manufactured at other glassworks in the country particularly Alloa.

Typical Nailsea-style items were flasks, jugs, bottles, mugs, vases, bowls, paperweights, twisted canes, rolling pins, pipes, hats, and jars many of which are now highly prized collectable items.

Some Nailsea-style glassware is plain clear glass with a slight green tint; these items were made from Crown (window) glass and many of the locally owned examples are of this type.

Others were made from bottle glass, in varying shades of darker green. Both these were styles of glass were often decorated with white or coloured splashes or white lines, sometimes pulled or combed to give a feathered effect.