Chartered Surveyors Stourbridge West Midlands

Approximate Population: 54,661

Stourbridge gives its name to local glass production, which has been manufactured since the early 1600s. However, most of the glass industry was actually located in surrounding areas including Wordsley, Amblecote and Oldswinford. The rich natural resources of coal and fireclay for lining furnaces made it the perfect location for the industry and it is believed that it was the presence of fireclay that was the predominant reason for why glassmakers were attracted to the area.

The industry peaked in the area in the 19th century due to the Industrial Revolution which also resulted in the introduction of canals to the area. The canals facilitated the importing of large amounts of fine sand from Ireland and, by 1861, all eleven glass factories in Stourbridge were located alongside a canal. Also by 1861, the census identified that 1,032 residents of Stourbridge were involved in the glass trade in some way. Of these, 541 were glass workers – an increase from 409 in 1851, believed to be partly caused by the collapse of the glass industry in nearby Dudley in the 1850s. The vast majority of those involved in the glass trade came from Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire. 9% came from other parts of England and 0.2% had come from abroad.

Of particular note are glass cutters, as 8.1% had come from Ireland, believed to be as a result of the decline of the Irish glasscutting industry in the first half of the 1800s. The houses inhabited by glassworkers were of a much better quality in comparison to the slums in which the nailmakers of Lye and Wollescote lived. However, only a few glassworkers owned their own houses.

Stourbridge glass is recognised as amongst the finest in the world has been used countless times as gifts for royalty and visiting dignitaries. However, in recent years, the industry has been destroyed by the effects of globalisation, with the glassmaking companies moving abroad.

Chartered Surveyors Stourbridge West Midlands