The glass industry is full of mystery and intrigue, secrets and skill and Tudor is certainly no exception.

The idea of a new glassworks was conceived around midsummer 1920 by Mr. Congreave Jackson, the managing Director of Thos. Webb & Sons, Dennis Glassworks Stourbridge. After Mr. Jacksons' resignation, John Guest & Son, A local firm of builders was commissioned to build the Stour Glassworks which was completed in 1921. There was a disagreement between Mr. Jackson and Mr. Guest which left Mr. Guest with a glass factory. He then approached several senior members of staff at Thos. Webbs & Sons with the intention of forming another company to operate the new factory. This was a risky undertaking as the crystal industry in Stourbridge was slack after World War I and in 1922 there were 18 manufacturers with short-time working on the increase. In 1962 there were five crystal manufacturers and in 2002 there are only three, each of studio size. Despite the risk, The Stourbridge Glass Company Ltd. was formed with Mr. W. H. Aston as Managing Director, Mr. A. Horton, Mr. W.A. Price, Mr. H. Wilkinson as directors and Mr. Horace Guest as chairman. About 70 employees were engaged from the staff of the other world famous companies Thos. Webb & Sons, Stevens & Williams (Royal Brierley), Stuarts and Webb Corbett (Royal Doulton) to manufacture 30 per cent lead crystal.

Glass stretching in the coneBy 1939 some 250 workpeople were employed, but during World War II only 70, making utility soda lime glassware and casings for electric lamps. In 1946 Crystal manufacture restarted along with reconstruction and development. 1952 saw a slump in trade with Australia and New Zealand and by 1962 there were 120 employees. In the late 1980's Tudor was purchased by Mr. Eric Batty of Elite Tile. The land and factory was sold to make way for housing but the Tudor name continued through another Thos Webb group. A group of skilled glass craftspeople formed a co-operative in 1991 as Dennis Hall Crystal. They made their own crystal and began supplying Tudor until they bought the company name in 1995 and kept the Tudor tradition alive. Again this was not an auspicious time for the crystal industry but they continued trading successfully until 2000 when ownership was passed to Plowden & Thompson Ltd., and by 2001 all manufacturing was transferred to the Dial glassworks, or rather the New Dial built in 1788 on the canal bank and almost back to back with the original Tudor works.

The Dial has also had a succession of owners and has made everything from Broad glass, Bottles, Industrial glass and fancy goods but the last time crystal was made was in the late 1890's by Messrs Webb, Shaw & Company, but that is another story, Crystal is back with Tudor. Sources: The Old Glasshouses of Stourbridge and Dudley R. Wakefield. Reputed from the Stour Gazette 1934 Tudor Crystal Past, Present and Future Pottery Gazette & Glass Trade Review July 1962 (Article provided by Mr. Roger Aston, Grandson of the original Tudor M.D.) Memories of Employees Past, Present & Future
To buy a piece of Tudor Crystal is to invest in almost 400 years of British craftmanship. Since the Huguenot refugees added their skills to those local glassmakers in the early 1600's, Stourbridge has remained an important centre of fine crystalware production. Tudor Crystal has long been prominent in Stourbridge and is today renowned (as for decades past) for its range of sparkling lead crystal, unsurpassed in quality and colour and a handsome adjunct to the most demanding decor. Tudor Crystal's team handmake each piece using their inherited skills and artistry, and enrich it with their feel for good design. The beauty of Tudor Crystal comes from our use of full lead crystal, blown and cut by hand.