Glass making in Greenwich

Our July talk was a very wonderful discussion on Glass Making in London given by David Watts. Since then some of us have been able to get hold of a copy of his book "A history of Glassmaking in London"
(£25 Watts Publishing)

Part 2 of the book starts with 'Glassmaking in Greenwich' - and perhaps we need to say first of all that this should really be "Early glassmaking" - because of you look for United Glass and/or Kork 'n Seal you will not find them-nor will you find much about the glass making sand quarries in the Charlton area.

David starts his Greenwich chapter by saying that 'information about Greenwich is least satisfactory' - but what he does give us is a series of, as yet unresolved, clues.

He says that the earliest reference he has found is to a grant in 1575 to James Vasselyn to open a house for 'the manufacture of glass in Greenwich'. This is Verzelini who certainly had glasshouses in London and in Kent, but a Greenwich site is not known.

In the 1630s Jeremiah Bagg and Francis Bristow had a partnership for a Greenwich glasshouse - but where this was he doesn't know.

In 1673 John Evelyn records a visit to an 'Italian glasshouse' in Greenwich. Again, David doesn't know where this was and if it was one of those mentionedabove or something new.

David then moves on to Woolwich. This was a glasshouse for broad window glass on the riverfront between the Arsenal and the Dockyard. Sand came from Maidstone and coal from Newcastle.The works was run by members of the Henzey family and come from France, via Stourbridge, to arrive in Woolwoich in the 1620s.

Payne's Wharf query

Robin Jordan writes;

I was browsing the blog to see if I could find out more about Paynes Wharf, if there are any photos/articles, how and when it might have got its name – and who were the “Payne Brothers” that were mentioned in a Times Article relating to a serious paper fire in their warehouse in 1929.

Can anyone help point me in the right direction?

Greenwich Armour

The lastest edition of Festival Times has just arrived. This is the newsletter of the Festival of Britain Society, and devotes itself to the amazing amount of material and events which emanated from the Festival in 1951. The newsletter always contains many intersting, and surprising, items.
You can contact the Society at http://www.festivalofbritain.org/.


I note in this one a whole page about a Greenwich industry - the Tudor manufacture of upmarket . This exhibition - part of the 1951 Festival - was at the Tower of London
and was the first time this collection had been brought together.


Armour made for the Earl of Warwick c.1615

A suit of armour made for George Clifford

3rd Earl of Cumberland c1568

Armour on the left made for Henry VII
Armour on the right made for William
Herbert, The Earl of Pembroke

Armour belonging to Henry Prince of Wales c.1610 on the left

one the right armour made for George Clifford 3rd Earl of

Cumberland c.1568

Newsletters - Crossness - GLIAS - AIA - Naval Dockyards

Some Newsletters

The Crossness Engines Record.
Of course nearly everything our local industrial museum has to say in its newsletter is of interest. The Summer 2010 issue is no exception. It starts with an item about a group of volunteers from Ford’s Dagenham Plant who came and did a lot of cleaning up. Then there is an item of the use of the site as a film set for ‘Bel Ami’. Next –testing has shown that their old cooling pond is ‘very healthy’. Then a long article about their Lancashire boilers – I wonder if they would mind if we reproduced this here sometime. Most important is news of their new access road – and then a reproduced item from the Metropolitan Drainage Minutes of 1874 (lots of self congratulation!). Next is ‘Trouble from the Hotwell’ - and then an item about a toilet facility on Crete. Nature Watch – fungus on their cedar tree - and a mini biography of one of their volunteers. The back page explains that the site is closed because of building work but that there will be two open days - on 3rd October and 28th December. See www.crossness.org.uk (where of course you will find all sorts of info, and be able to access more of the above)

GLIAS – August 2010
As a London wide organisation GLIAS spreads its net far beyond Greenwich. Dave Perrott has however submitted a short note about development at Convoys (Deptford Dockyard site) and this is followed by a more detailed item from site resident Chris Mazeika. Chris asks for help with contacting people with knowledge/interest in engineers John Rennie, Sir Samuel Bentham and George Ledwell-Taylor. He points to stuff found in a recent archaeological dig on site (GIHS is due to have a speaker on this next year). Expressions of c oncern on heritage items should go to Julian Heath at English Heritage. (and, Chris, if you are reading this –please we would like to hear from you and happy to publish anything else here).
GLIAS advertises its own events as
4th September - A walk round Clerkenwell
3rd October – GLIAS Treasure Hunt with Chris and Fiona

INDUSTRIAL ACCHAELOGY NEWS
As the AIA is a national organisation, Greenwich doesn’t get much of a look in! (If I say none of them believe there was any industry in London I will get into trouble, so ignore me!) However there is a rather indignant letter from the archaeologists on the Deptford Dockyard site (read it! I am not going to get involved). Under Regional News Bob Carr has noted our latest tide mill (the 11th century one) with some detail – perhaps I could reproduce that too in time. He also notes the demolition of what is now the Syrol site (again, I could reproduce, with permission). In book reviews is noted ‘Ferries of the Lower Thames” (Amberley Publishing) and I think this is something we need to know more about! Perhaps we should get a copy – according to the review Woolwich Ferry is the star item ‘the best known of all Thames Ferries’.

Dockyards – the Naval Dockyards Society Newsletter
This starts with a real Greenwich feature – a picture of the Launch of Third Rate Lennox in 1678 (painting by Richard Endsor. Elsewhere in the newsletter is a note about ongoing concerns about the Deptford site – and they recommend reading:
http://shipwrightspalace.blogspot.com
http://londonslostgarden.wordpress.com
http://deptforddame.blogspot,com
They also note the possible sale of the Shipwright’s Palace (does anyone know what is going on there??)

Some letters

We've been sent a series of archive letters (thank you, John).

Two of them relate to railway bridges in our area

- One is about the bridge over Court Road in Eltham and is from the London General Omnibus Company of Electric Railway House, Westminster. Dating from 1934 it concerns the weight of their buses.

= The other is about the Horn Park Lane railway bridge which was being replaced. From the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich Electricity Department it describes the location of electricity cables on the bridge which the London County Council want removed.

Molassine and the Aeriel Post

First UK Aeriel Post

Mollassine was an animal food factory near the Blackwall Tunnel - it was part of the Syriol site, currently under demolition. It had a somewhat chequered start - and was the source of as very major local smell
The animal food was based on molasses mixed with various other substances. A more detailed history can be found in back numbers of the Greenwich Industrial History newsletter.

Presumably this post card is some sort of pubicity stunt - did all companies get one?? We need to hear from aeriel historians! but the thought of Molassine's dog food by air ...............................

News and bits and pieces

Motorcycle exhibitions - Plumstead was a major centre of motor cycle manufacturing s0 -:
Greenwich Heritage Centre
July 3rd-September 18th AJS Motorcycle 100 - history of the works in Plumstead
and - 24th July at 2 pm Matchless Motorbikes. talk by Frances Ward.

GLIAS - Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society Newsletter notes the demolition of the Ferrier Estate, the narrow gauge railway track at Angerstein Wharf, and the closure of the Royal George in Blisset Street.

Woolwich Antiquarians Newsletter recorded the demise of one of the last Woolwich Borough Electricity Junction Box - knocked over by a car. It stood at the junction of Cleanthus and Eaglesfield Roads. It was cast iron and had on it the arms of the old Borough of Woolwich. They note however that another such junction box at the junction of Burrage Road and Burrage Place has now been locally listed.

Crossness Engines Record - sadly records the death of one of their long term volunteers - John Ridley, We should send belated condolences.