Stourbridge is a large town, found towards the southern edge of the Black Country. In spite of its current designation as part of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley has a long history. It is situated on the river Stour and was recorded as Sturbrug or Sturesbridge in the 1255 Worcestershire assize roll (1) being named after a bridge which crossed the river Stour (2) although the settlement was originally of Anglo-Saxon origin and was known as Bedcote which lay in the manor of Swynford appearing in the Domesday book of 1086 (3). It was historically noted for its leather and clothing trades together with metal products from the forges and mills driven by waterwheels on the River Stour (2) It later became known, along with its surrounding parishes of Amblecote, Wordsley, Lye and Brierley Hill, not for chain or nail making, common elsewhere in the Black Country, but for its glassmaking which has continued in the area for over 400 years (2).
The origins of the Stourbridge glass industry date back to the early 17th century when glassmakers, particularly Huguenots from Lorraine, France, settled in the district (4) and intermarried with local families . The Huguenots (5) were French Calvinist Protestants who suffered persecution at the hands of the Catholic majority during the French Wars of Religion (5). Many thousands subsequently emigrated from France as refugees and many from the Lorraine region eventually settled in the area around Stourbridge where they found the raw materials and fuel to continue their Lorraine glassmaking tradition. Anglicized names such as Tyzack, Henzey and Tittery are regularly found amongst the early glassmakers, and the region went on to become one of the most important glass regions in the country (6). Coal was important as fuel because King James I, wanting to protect the forests, issued a proclamation (7) against the wasteful use of wood especially in glass making. The Huguenot and other families who originally settled in the Weald of Kent and used wood for firing their furnaces then had to move further north where coal was plentiful (8). The Black Country was not only a source of plentiful and cheap coal but also good quality fireclay for the crucibles and pots used in glass furnaces which was found along the valley of the Stour River (1)). Initially the glasshouses produced window glass and bottles but towards the end of the 17th century lead glass tableware, for which the area became famous (9), was produced. It was also towards the end of the 17th century that the next step in glass making technology appeared: the distinctive cone shaped glasshouse. This new design transformed the glasshouse into a giant chimney which sucked air through the furnaces and thereby increased the working temperature.. A surviving example is the Red House Glass Cone in nearby Wordsley (10). This 90-foot high conical brick structure was completed in 1794 by Richard Bradley and George Ensell for the manufacture of window glass; it was used by the Stuart Crystal firm until 1936 and is now maintained as a museum and houses a number of glass artists and craft businesses (10).
The industry grew in Victorian times: decorative lead glass, cameo, coloured glass and crystal from Stourbridge and the adjacent Wordsley, Amblecote and Brierley Hill areas was recognised for its very high quality and was used for gifts especially for royalty and dignitaries (11). Sadly after WW2 the industry slowly declined and the major glass companies of Thomas Webb, Webb Corbett, Royal Brierley Crystal and Stuart Crystal all closed (12). The only major company remaining making decorative cut crystal glass is Brierley Hill Crystal (11) but the glass tradition is also kept alive by a growing number of small craft glassmakers (13) many based in the Stourbridge Glass Quarter who specialise in contemporary, traditional cut glass, bespoke pieces of art or jewellery (1, 2)
While Stourbridge became famous for its glassmaking it was also involved in the wider Black Country iron and coal industry; for example the company John Bradley & Co., was established in Stourbridge in 1800 and grew into a major concern with furnaces, ironworks, and collieries, being instrumental in bringing the first commercial steam locomotive to the Midlands in 1829 (14). The production of edge tools (axes, scythes, sickles) was also a well established trade in the surrounding district (15). Transport was also critical to the developmnent of the town: the transport of fragile finished glass for export was greatly also aided by the completion of the Stourbridge Canal in 1779 allowing access to the wider canal and river Severn network (1,4)
(1) Wikipedia. Stourbridge. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stourbridge.
(2) https://www.stourbridge.com/about_stourbridge.htm
(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesday_Book
(4) https://stourbridgehistoricalsociety.com/news-page/
(5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huguenots
(6) Ellis, Jason (2002). Glassmakers of Stourbridge and Dudley 1612–2002. Harrogate: Jason Ellis. ISBN 1-4010-6799-9.
(7) By the King: A Proclamation touching Glasses. Proclamations 1615 James I, Imprinted at London by Robert Barker
(10) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_House_Cone
(11) https://brierleyhillcrystal.co.uk/
(12) https://www.dudley.gov.uk/things-to-do/museums/collections/glass/the-stourbridge-glass-story/
(13) https://glassquarter.dudley.gov.uk/welcome/glassmakers/
(14) Wikipedia. John Bradley & Co. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bradley_%26_Co.
(15) Stourbridge and Dudley A Sketch of the Industrial History of the District. URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1179/tns.1927.010.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stourbridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Edward_VI_College,_Stourbridge
Black Country Nostalgia. Black Country Landscapes - The Stourbridge Canal & Glass Works Walk. URL: https://www.blackcountrynostalgia.com/2022/02/black-country-landscapes-stourbridge.html.
Haden, H. Jack. The Stourbridge Glass Industry, 1760-1860. 1974.
The British Glass Foundation. A History of Glass. https://www.britishglassfoundation.org.uk/a-history-of-glass/.
Chambers, R.L. (1988). Story of a School: King Edward VI School, Stourbridge. Mark and Moody Ltd. ISBN 0-9506-4396-3.