Ruskin Glass Centre is calling upon locals to join the Webb Corbett Heritage Project to collect and preserve memories and artefacts relating to the old factory and the world famous glassmaking industry of Stourbridge.
Visitors will be able to share their memories with heritage staff and catch up with old colleagues on the day with an opportunity to share any photographs, artefacts and stories that may be used as part of the new Webb Corbett Visitor Centre. There will be also be a preview of some of the content that will be part of the new attraction on display in the Centre on the day.
There will be guided Heritage Tours around the site to learn all about the buildings that were once part of the Webb Corbett Glass Factory which is now the home to Glasshouse College, Ruskin Glass Centre and the new Glasshouse Arts Centre which is currently under development. Glasshouse Arts Centre is the latest development on the Glasshouse site. It will be an artistic and cultural hub for local groups, theatre performances, conferencing and hospitality events. The building will encompass the Webb Corbett Visitor Centre that tells the story of local glass heritage.
Malcolm Andrews, former Chief Glassmaker at the Webb Corbett site who worked there for 30 years , said ‘It’s great to see the old buildings getting a new lease of life and used for something that will benefit the community. I have been working with the project team to help try and fill in the gaps in the history that’s not documented anywhere. It’s been lovely looking through old photographs and I’ve even donated a few artefacts to the project as it will be nice to see them go to a good home. I have many happy memories of the site and I’m hoping to have a few more once the new Centre is complete. The Reflections Day should be a great day and I’m hoping to catch up with some people I haven’t seen in a long time’.
The development is funded by HLF (£1.85m) and Arts Council England (£250k) to bring another building on the Glasshouse site back to life. The building was once part of the Webb Corbett glass factory and then Royal Doulton before being purchased by Ruskin Mill Trust in the year 2000.
The event will run from 10am to 4pm on Saturday 16th June at the Ruskin Glass Centre, Wollaston, Stourbridge. To download the flyer for the event; please click the following link: A4 Press Release v3
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