New book about the creation of Stourbridge Glass Museum

A book outlining how the Stourbridge Glass Museum turned from a dream into reality has been published by writer and broadcaster Graham Fisher MBE FRGS. Graham is well-known to many in the glass sector, having become a Trustee of the fledgling British Glass Foundation (BGF) in 2011 and later joining the jury panel for the International Festival of Glass, held in Stourbridge in 2015.

Stourbridge Glass Museum: how it came into being provides a comprehensive and absorbing account of how Stourbridge Glass Museum was created on the vandalised and burnt-out site of the former Stuart Glassworks in Wordsley, in the heart of the historic Stourbridge Glass Quarter in the West Midlands.

The book covers the 13 years from the BGF’s formation to manage the project through to the official opening of a brand-new, purpose-built, canal-side facility in 2023. The site is designed to conserve and promote both the heritage and the future of local glassmaking for generations to come.

The publication includes a Foreword by Lynn Boleyn MBE, secretary and business manager at the BGF.

Graham Knowles, chairman of the BGF, commented, “Graham has captured the essence of creating what we consider is a ‘People’s Museum’ from the relics of a former glassmaking site that, more than 20 years after its closure, is still regarded locally with great affection. His latest book is a fascinating narrative in its own right, but his recording of how we arrived here will doubtless prove of immense value to researchers and historians yet to be born.”

The BGF was formed in response to uncertainty over the future of the internationally renowned Stourbridge Glass collection, following the loss of its former home at Broadfield House in Kingswinford. In addition to successfully creating the new facility to display the collection, BGF has since become an umbrella organisation representing the wider interests of glassmaking in general, and around Stourbridge in particular.

All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the BGF. It is available at RRP £10.00 from Amazon, Stourbridge Glass Museum or direct from the author (+£2.50 p&p). For further information, contact Graham via email: grahamfisher@me.com

Stourbridge Glass Museum; how it came into being is published by Sparrow Publishing. ISBN 978-1-7399212-2-4, 56pp, softback, illustrated in full colour.

Image: Graham Fisher with his book.