The rich reserves of coal , limestone and easy access of other minerals via the sea made glassmaking one of Sunderlands oldest established industries.

Wearside had the coal fuel and the lime used to lower melting temperatures of raw materials on hand. Whereas the sand would have to be brought from Kings Lynn and other parts of East Anglia access was easy transporting it by sea to Wearside and equally the finished goods would leave the same way for far away destinations. The Sunderland Company of Glassmakers owned quarries at Cox Green and Penshaw where sandstone ( firestone ) was quarried  and used to re-line the furnaces every couple of months.

Wearside glass was very dominant in the eighteenth century shared only by Tyneside in the top position. Sadly, this would begin to decline at the turn of the century and by the 1920,s many companies would close. Sunderland was strong in bottle, tableware and our internationally famous stained window glass.

Bottles were made at Ayres Quay and Bishopwearmouth Panns Bottleworkstowards the end of the seventeeth century. Not only did we produce beer bottles but glas containers for chemists and grocers.

Sadly , mainly due to lack of investment the Ayres Quay Bottleworks stopped production in 1923 as companies from Yorkshire who had invested in highly mechanised machinery were able to produce at a much lower cost per unit.

I remember thr "Hartley Glassworks" in Portobello Lane which connected Newcastle Road ( where the Metro Station is - 2011 ) to Roker Avenue ( around the junction with Church Street). A door which was about 4ft from the ground was always open to let the air into the factory. As kids we would hang about there waiting for the glass blowers to give us the coloured marbles. This, I believe was the ends as the glassblowers blew the glass. A great item for bargaining with the other kids. The glassworks was founded by James Hartley and Alfred Wood in 1893 and was a major supplier of stained glass in Britain. Know as the Portobello Lane Works  was a subsidiary of Pilkingtons when it eventually closed in 1989.