GLASS RECIPES AND THE OUTPUT FROM A 19TH-CENTURY GLASS WORKS: EXAMPLES FROM PERCIVAL, VICKERS & CO. LTD, MANCHESTER

Abstract

Excavations by Oxford Archaeology North in 2003 revealed extensive structural remains of the former Percival, Vickers and Co. Ltd glass works, one of the principal 19th-century glass manufactories in Manchester. A detailed account of the excavated remains, focusing on the significant developments in furnace design inherent in the exposed structures, has already been published in volume 29.1 (2007) of the Review. However, an in-depth analysis of the 187kg of glass fragments recovered from the excavation was omitted, and this shortcoming is addressed in the present paper. Scientific analysis of the glass compositions revealed that a variety of recipes were used, and these related closely to the different ways that glass was being worked on site, as evidenced by the various types of waste. A relatively small but nevertheless significant number of vessel fragments were also recovered, allowing the output of the glass works to be characterised for the first time.

The authors are grateful to Lever Street Properties Ltd for funding the analysis of the glass as part of the post-excavation programme. Thanks are also expressed to Professor J.N. Walsh at Royal Holloway, University of London, for sharing his expertise in ICP analysis, and to Dr David Martlew of the Science Support Group at Pilkington for his advice and support. Thanks are also expressed to Jerneja Willmott for producing the illustrations of the glass.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hugh Willmott

Dr Hugh Willmott FSA MIFA is a Senior Lecturer in European Historical Archaeology at the University of Sheffield. Hugh specialises in the archaeology of glass, and has wider research interests in the development of societies through the production, use and deposition of material culture.

Correspondence to: Dr Hugh Willmott FSA, Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, Northgate House, West Street, Sheffield S1 4ET, UK. Email: [email protected]

Ian Miller

Ian Miller BA FSA is a Senior Project Manager with Oxford Archaeology North, and has been closely involved in the archaeological excavation and research of industrial sites across north-west England since the early 1990s.

Correspondence to: Ian Miller, Oxford Archaeology North, Storey Institute, Meeting House Lane, Lancaster la1 1tf, UK. Email: [email protected]

Caroline Jackson

Dr Caroline Jackson FSA is a Senior Lecturer in Archaeological Sciences at the University of Sheffield, and has researched the nature of glass technology, production and consumption from the Late Bronze Age in Egypt to 19th-century Britain.

Correspondence to: Dr Caroline Jackson, Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, Northgate House, West Street, Sheffield S1 4ET, UK. Email: [email protected]