Owned by James Powell
& Sons from 1834, the Whitefriars glassworks (later Whitefriars
Glass Limited), produced glass of the highest quality until the
business closed in 1980.
 In
1834, James Powell, a successful London wine merchant,
bought the Whitefriars Glassworks. His grandson Harry Powell played
a major role during the nineteenth century and the early part of
the twentieth century, when the company made very high quality art
glass on a par with the output of Loetz in Europe and Tiffany in
the USA.
Whitefriars
exhibited at the major international exhibitions and won many prizes.
They
made fine quality historismus glass, they were part of the avant
garde of the Arts and Crafts movement,
they made beautiful art nouveau pieces,
and when Venetian glass was all the rage in London, James Powell
and Sons were producing some of the finest reproduction Venetian
glass in the world.
At
the start of the 20th century, the Whitefriars factory was between
Fleet Street and the River Thames.
In
1923,
a new factory was opened in Wealdstone near Harrow, northwest London.
The new furnaces were lit using the flame from one of the old works
furnaces. The flame had been carefully carried across London in
a brazier. The company also had showrooms on Wigmore Street, and
this attracted customers from both the domestic and window glass
markets.
In
spite of there long tradition of producing very fine art glass,
the Whitefriars Glassworks is best known for its industrial art
glass, which was made from the 1920's onwards and after Harry Powell
had retired.
Geoffrey
Baxter
was one of the many well-known glass designers who worked at Whitefriars.
He joined the factory in 1954 after graduating from the Royal College
of Art. Baxter had a great influence on Whitefriars table and domestic
glass designs.
In
the 1960s,
baxter began to experiment with a new moulded glass.
In
1963, the company changed its name to Whitefriars
Glass Limited.
In
1967,
they introduced the Textured range. The pieces were made in moulds
using tree bark, nails, wire and other materials to produce alternative
textures to the glass.
Whitefriars
or Powell glass is normally marked with a paper label, but these
have often been lost over the years. However, most of the later
designs and colours are so distinctive, that it is easy to identify
post-1930 Powell glass.
In
1980, high interest rates, high fuel costs and a
recession all played their part in the closure of the Whitefriars
factory although Whitefriars continued to design and produce high
quality glass right to the end, their sales were never enough to
cover their costs, and the company was placed in receivership, made
bankrupt, and closed down.
Fortunately, the company records and numerous pieces of glassware
were given to the Museum of London.
If
you're looking to add to your Whitefriars Glass Collection, why
not have a look through our Whitefriars
Glass for Sale section.
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