What? I'm not going if they try that shit. I only wanted to see some glass blowing ffs, not be visually tortured with natural fibres!
National Glass Centre reopening
- Thread starter bobster999
- Start date
double maxim
Striker
Exhibit A
Wearside Wanderer II
Striker
The cafe is always busy, I would hazard a guess many of those having a cuppa have also walked round the exhibitions and also possibly spent a few quid in the shop.
Entitled to your angle but I think ‘glass’, ‘cafe’s, and exhibitions aren’t your thing…
tunstallhill
Striker
Who said 'so few people use it' ?
You've just made that up off the top of your head and decided to spout it as fact
Sgt Pepper
Striker
The cafe is a great little spot especially in the warmer months when you can sit outside. Always found the toasties canny nice as well.
You f***ing go and build a museum there then.Maybe if it wasn't all (free) it might be more of a viable enterprise to keep on?
Regardless of economics, I know sunderland has some glass making history going right back to Benedict Biscop but I always found the link to sunderland to be a extremely tenuous anyway. Even their own website talks about Benedict Biscop then says "fast forward 1300 years".
And what they are fast forwarding to is a secondary industry and although we produced a lot it was mostly rolled plate and pressed glass (windows and bottles) so it was essentially a factory process, the quaint glass blowing demonstrations don't really represent the history of Sunderland's role in glass making.
There are towns up and down the country that have as much or more of a tradition in decorative art glass production. I know its not the most reliable of sources but sunderland isn't mentioned once here
Early modern glass in England - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
Or here
Glass - Wikipedia
I've always been a bit embarrassed to have it here to be honest and I certainly won't miss it when it's gone and replaced with a bit of exhibition space in the museum or new culture house.
Lord Potts
Striker
I live way down in Deal in Kent. Only last month I bought a beautiful piece of hand painted stained glass that had been made by a local glass craftsman / artist. The piece was produced on mouthblown kiln fired glass made in Sunderland.Maybe if it wasn't all (free) it might be more of a viable enterprise to keep on?
Regardless of economics, I know sunderland has some glass making history going right back to Benedict Biscop but I always found the link to sunderland to be a extremely tenuous anyway. Even their own website talks about Benedict Biscop then says "fast forward 1300 years".
And what they are fast forwarding to is a secondary industry and although we produced a lot it was mostly rolled plate and pressed glass (windows and bottles) so it was essentially a factory process, the quaint glass blowing demonstrations don't really represent the history of Sunderland's role in glass making.
There are towns up and down the country that have as much or more of a tradition in decorative art glass production. I know its not the most reliable of sources but sunderland isn't mentioned once here
Early modern glass in England - Wikipedia
Or here
Glass - Wikipedia
I've always been a bit embarrassed to have it here to be honest and I certainly won't miss it when it's gone and replaced with a bit of exhibition space in the museum or new culture house.
The artist who was a old as me has spent his life working with glass and believe me he knew all about glass making and Sunderland. He bemoaned the fact that his supply of the particular mouthblown glass from which he had made my piece would no longer be available as the chap producing it has retired.
The industrial production of glass in the large Corning Pyrex glass works may have been more obvious to people in Sunderland but there has always been other more traditional glass making going on in the city . Glass art work is perhaps less fashionable these days but it was greatly valued in the C19th & Jobling's who owned the the glass works before Corning is recognised as having produced some of the finest pressed glass ever made in England.
Glass making in Sunderland was overshadowed by the huge shipbuilding and coal mining industries but there's nothing tenuous about Sunderland's connection with glassmaking. It's interesting that today some glassmaking still survives in the city whereas shipbuilding and coal mining have come and gone.
Boris Bear
Striker
Disagree…there’s a very interesting history to glass blowing in Sunderland that fits nicely into the industrial story of how the town vs Newcastle.Maybe if it wasn't all (free) it might be more of a viable enterprise to keep on?
Regardless of economics, I know sunderland has some glass making history going right back to Benedict Biscop but I always found the link to sunderland to be a extremely tenuous anyway. Even their own website talks about Benedict Biscop then says "fast forward 1300 years".
And what they are fast forwarding to is a secondary industry and although we produced a lot it was mostly rolled plate and pressed glass (windows and bottles) so it was essentially a factory process, the quaint glass blowing demonstrations don't really represent the history of Sunderland's role in glass making.
There are towns up and down the country that have as much or more of a tradition in decorative art glass production. I know its not the most reliable of sources but sunderland isn't mentioned once here
Early modern glass in England - Wikipedia
Or here
Glass - Wikipedia
I've always been a bit embarrassed to have it here to be honest and I certainly won't miss it when it's gone and replaced with a bit of exhibition space in the museum or new culture house.
Factory production actually includes glass blowing.
Lord Potts
Striker
Quite true the glass blowers at Cornings used to produce large chemical retorts and other vessels for industry & those things were certainly a bit bigger than the vase that your granny had on her sideboard.
The blowers were big blokes and back in the day they were each entitled to receive a quart of beer per shift owing to the effort involved in their work and the tremendous heat of the glass furnace. It was a tradition that each day the "lad" would take blowers billy cans to up to the local pub in Millfield and have them filled.
I am not sure when or if the practice of supplying of beer to the blowers was ever brought to an end but I can imagine that with large lumps of molten glass being thrown around that Health & Safety may have had something to say about it.
Sam Handwich
Striker
Closing permanently after 25 year. Announced last night on Facebook.
No it’s not! National Glass Centre | Sunderland
Bakerlooline
Striker
Yes it is and it’s to be demolished
Shandy drinker
Striker
Great day to bury bad news
Who in their right mind unless they are covering something up make and announcement on a Sunday night and Xmas eve
no surprise from the university
I can’t see it on there
Bragging on Facebook about being included on the roker riviera travel review
The university have never had intention in keeping it
If they don’t want it surely a trust from levelling up money would save i
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AndrewP
Striker
I have a huge case of Mandela effect with this case.
I'm told it didn't open until the 2000s, yet I recall visiting with the school (left 94) and watching the glass blowing etc. It's a pretty solid memory too, but obviously it can't be real.
Statement on the National Glass Centre
“Sunderland is proud of our cultural heritage and the National Glass Centre has played a key role in putting the city on the cultural map for over 30 years.
“The University and it's partners have done all they can to try to remain at the current site. However, following the conclusion of a specialist external review it is clear that a multi-million-pound investment would be required if the NGC were to remain at its current location.
“Although this is disappointing, I am reassured that the University and it's partners are working hard to ensure that the first-class exhibitions that are enjoyed by thousands of people each year are retained within the city.
“The NGC was one of the last buildings built by the former Tyne and Wear Development Corporation and was green lighted in the mid-1990s. Government regulations at the time did not require the building to obtain planning permission before construction. Sadly, the reason the NGC is having to re-locate is due to poor design not a lack of maintenance.
“I am thankful that subsequent Governments have overhauled the country’s planning guidance in the years since the NGC was built, so that that the poor design flaws that have caused this problem don’t happen again.”
Actually. Maybe my Mandela effect is real as that says over 30 years!!
I'm told it didn't open until the 2000s, yet I recall visiting with the school (left 94) and watching the glass blowing etc. It's a pretty solid memory too, but obviously it can't be real.
Statement on the National Glass Centre “Sunderland is proud of our cultural heritage and the National Glass Centre has played a key role in putting the city on the cultural map for over 30 years.
“The University and it's partners have done all they can to try to remain at the current site. However, following the conclusion of a specialist external review it is clear that a multi-million-pound investment would be required if the NGC were to remain at its current location.
“Although this is disappointing, I am reassured that the University and it's partners are working hard to ensure that the first-class exhibitions that are enjoyed by thousands of people each year are retained within the city.
“The NGC was one of the last buildings built by the former Tyne and Wear Development Corporation and was green lighted in the mid-1990s. Government regulations at the time did not require the building to obtain planning permission before construction. Sadly, the reason the NGC is having to re-locate is due to poor design not a lack of maintenance.
“I am thankful that subsequent Governments have overhauled the country’s planning guidance in the years since the NGC was built, so that that the poor design flaws that have caused this problem don’t happen again.”
Actually. Maybe my Mandela effect is real as that says over 30 years!!
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Shandy drinker
Striker
What are those design flaws??I have a huge case of Mandela effect with this case.
I'm told it didn't open until the 2000s, yet I recall visiting with the school (left 94) and watching the glass blowing etc. It's a pretty solid memory too, but obviously it can't be real.
“Sunderland is proud of our cultural heritage and the National Glass Centre has played a key role in putting the city on the cultural map for over 30 years.
“The University and it's partners have done all they can to try to remain at the current site. However, following the conclusion of a specialist external review it is clear that a multi-million-pound investment would be required if the NGC were to remain at its current location.
“Although this is disappointing, I am reassured that the University and it's partners are working hard to ensure that the first-class exhibitions that are enjoyed by thousands of people each year are retained within the city.
“The NGC was one of the last buildings built by the former Tyne and Wear Development Corporation and was green lighted in the mid-1990s. Government regulations at the time did not require the building to obtain planning permission before construction. Sadly, the reason the NGC is having to re-locate is due to poor design not a lack of maintenance.
“I am thankful that subsequent Governments have overhauled the country’s planning guidance in the years since the NGC was built, so that that the poor design flaws that have caused this problem don’t happen again.”
Actually. Maybe my Mandela effect is real as that says over 30 years!!
It’s stood for over 25 years
It looks like poor maintenance to me and I know on very good authority it’s never had a maintenance budget
AndrewP
Striker
Do you remember it being somewhere else before the current building?
Paddy O'Dors
Striker
Me da was a glassblower in the 60's, there was a few employed doing it. They used to send one of the lads to fill up their billy cans in the Free Gardeners every now and then with beer cos it was thirsty work.
Sam Handwich
Striker
I'm not even sure it was there own page it was posted on, hence why I can't find it. Said it had been shut down over the weekend with the wind and it had become unsafe past the point of no return or words to that effect then mentioned that it had been there 25 years
Have a day off, man. It's Christmas Day.
Sumdumgi
Striker
It was open on Friday morning and there’s nothing online to indicate it’s closed down, perhaps they closed early and didn’t open Saturday as you could hardly stand up in the car park. Their website gives opening hours for next week, it is going to go, no doubt, until such time it does the cafe and exhibitions are all on the top floor and the glass blowing demos were going ahead. There are events booked during the school holidays and further ahead which are still open for bookings.
