Topic: New Books on Tutbury, Staffordshire and Hatton, Derbyshire, UK, Glassworks.

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Two books have been published recently on the history of the glassworks in Tutbury, Staffordshire and the adjoining village of Hatton, Derbyshire, England; sales will benefit Tutbury Museum.

“Glass and Religion – The Jackson Family and the First Hundred Years of the Tutbury Glassworks” by Philip A. Bell and Christopher S. Tipper. pp107/31 ill. GBP 10.95 plus GBP 2.00 P & P in UK.

Tutbury, Staffordshire has long been known for the quality cut glass produced there by Thomas Webb & Corbett Ltd and successor firms. Yet few have heard of Henry Jackson, or the Tutbury Glass Company, who were making glass in the village for almost 100 years before Webb & Corbett arrived in 1906. Surprisingly little had been known about this period but now, as a result of extensive research conducted on both sides of the Atlantic, a fuller story can be told of that early period and of the Jackson family, founders first of a glass and earthenware business in the United States and then of a glassworks in Tutbury. In addition, the key role played by Tutbury glassmakers in one of the foremost craft unions of the 19th century is revealed.

“The Bottom Shop – The History of Glassmaking in Hatton, Derbyshire” by Chris Tipper and Philip Bell. pp179/48 ill. GBP 9.50 plus GBP 2.50 P & P in UK.

This is a tale of 120 years of roller-coaster industrial and commercial endeavour, largely unrecorded until now. It tells a story, not so much of glass, but rather of glassmakers – a succession of very different entrepreneurs, including William Sivewright, JTH Richardson, and Harry Corbett, who established businesses in the Scropton Lane glassworks. Some flourished for a while, but all were ultimately defeated by market forces. Output ranged from the sophistication of hand-blown and decorated crystal tableware to the more mundane machine-based production of cosmetic containers, jam jars, light bulbs and even dolls’ eyes. Drawing initially on the archives of Tutbury Museum, the book brings into the public domain the results of recent research into Trade Union records, local newspapers, family history resources, and oral testimony.

To purchase the books, contact Tutbury Museum, Charity House, Duke St., Tutbury DE13 9NE, UK; tutburymuseum@gmail.com. Note that P & P on the two books together is GBP 3.00. Enquiries may be made to the Museum or to Chris Tipper on +44 1455 823348.