Glass heritage 'on its knees', campaigners warn

4 hours ago

Pamela BilalovaNorth East and Cumbria

Campaigners are calling for more investment in glass heritage museums after the National Glass Centre's closure in July

BBC The entrance of the National Glass Centre in Sunderland. A large grey sign is suspended between two high cement pillars. A sloped path leads to the glass doors of the building. The fenced off roof of the building is visible in the distance. — Campaigners are calling for more investment in glass heritage museums after the National Glass Centre's closure in July

Glassmakers have warned Britain's glass heritage is "on its knees" and urged that there be a "fundamental rethink" of funding.

Campaigners in Sunderland and Stourbridge said glass heritage was "being allowed to disappear", and called on the government to invest in institutions across the country which try to preserve it.

It comes as the National Glass Centre in Sunderland closed its doors in July over "unaffordable" repair costs, put at put at between £14m and £45m.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said it was committed to ensuring museums were fit for the future, with £160m of funding dedicated to local museums.

The campaigners said just 1% of the £484m which 15 DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries - mostly in London - received in 2024–25 would be "transformational" for glass heritage hubs.

Alexander Goodger, director of Stourbridge Glass Museum, said Stourbridge and Sunderland's glassmaking communities were "united by the same problem".

"We have extraordinary collections, skills and stories, but the institutions preserving them are expected to survive through fundraising, community support and sheer determination," he said.

"Glassmaking is a 1,300-year-old British tradition. It is part of our national identity.

"We should not wait until these institutions have disappeared before deciding that they mattered."

'Sustainable support'

Stourbridge Glass Museum receives no central government funding towards its running costs.

The National Glass Centre once welcomed around 230,000 visitors a year, but closed last month and the building faces the prospect of demolition.

Save the National Glass Centre group said the situation demonstrated "the consequences of allowing nationally significant cultural assets outside London to become financially vulnerable".

"Campaign representatives believe the answer is not simply to save individual buildings, but to recognise the wider value of Britain's industrial heritage and establish sustainable support for the institutions that preserve it," they added.

A DCMS spokesperson said they were investing £1.5 billion to keep 1,000 museums and cultural venues open, including £160m dedicated to local museums.

They added support was also available through the Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND), which helps vital infrastructure works and the Museum Transformation programme.

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