Ancient Secrets Of Glass Making Rediscovered

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27392, 18 May 1950, Page 8

Ancient Secrets Of Glass Making Rediscovered

LONDON DIARY

Resident Correspondent * LONDON, May 6. Until yesterday, when I visited the oldest firm of glassworkers in Britain, I had always thought that the ancient Egyptians and Venetians possessed secrets in glassmaking which had never been discovered. I was assured, however, that this is not so. Today, given the money and time, there is no piece of glass which cannot be faithfully imitated, and there is no colour which cannot be reproduced.

This firm, James Powell and Sons (Whitefriars), Ltd., was founded in 1680, and its furnaces, that once smoked near Fleet street but have now been removed to the outskirts of London, have never been allowed to die out. Its products are known the world over. It is especially renowned for stained glass windows, several of which have been made for New Zealand, including those at St. Aidan’s (Remuera), St. Paul’s Pro Cathedral (Wellington), St. Barnabas (Fendalton) and St. Mary’s (Dunedin). At present work is proceeding on windows for St. Andrews (Cambridge) and St. Michael and All Angels (Puketapu). The biggest jobs in hand at present are for the Liverpool Cathedral, whose windows are the largest in the world, for the Bth Army window of Cairo Cathedral, and for St. Thomas’s Church, New York. In one window for the Cairo Cathedral measuring 14ft 6in by 3ft 6in I was told that there are 10,000 pieces, each of which has to be specially cut, leaded, and cemented.

CHURCHILL’S BIRTHPLACE Another famous old English home, Blenheim Palace, is to be opened to the public in order to help pay upkeep and taxes. The palace was built 240 years ago at a cost of £3p0,000, and was presented by Queen'Anne (although paid for out of public funds) as the Crown’s gift to this famous soldier. Although it has many splendid salons, superb tapestries, furniture, and works of art, I predict that today’s sightseers will be most interested in the modest room where Winston Churchill was born on November 30, 1874. In this room, high ceilinged and papered in a floral Victorian design, is the large brass bed where Lady Spencer-Churchill. the beautiful American wife of the Seventh*Duke of Marlborough, gave birth to him. On display in another room is the tiny vest he wore when a baby. WHAT’S IN A NAME? Talking of “ pubs,” I have been conducting a little research into the popularity of names. In the London telephone directory I counted 62 Prince of Wales. 45 Coach and Horses. 24 Green Men, 24 Bricklayers’ Arms, and 11 Star and Garters. There are innumerable Georges. Red Lions, Rose and Crowns, Dukes of York, Clarence, or Wellington, and scores of Heads— Stags, Queens, Nuns, Nags, Kings, and Shakespeares. I noticed a Hog in the Pound, the Live and Let Live, the Merry Cricketer, Mother Red Cap, We Anchor in Hope, the Old Sheer Hulk and Whod’ a Thought It. Then, of course, there were Dirty Dicks without number.

Rich and simple stained glass windows were a feature of Norman and the early English periods, but thereafter the art degenerated, and it was not until the nineteenth century that the secret was rediscovered. Now this firm claims that its glass is fully equal in the colour, translucency, and quality of that produced in medieval times.

None of the glass used is perfect; it is deliberately made imperfect with air bubbles and variations in thickness and density of colour which give stained glass windows the jewelled quality that was such a feature of the old English windows. The process of designing the scale model, making the actual size black and white model, the colouring and cutting of the glass, and then its eventual fitting together and cementing, is a highly skilled and laborious task often taking months to complete. Every workman must be an artist. In another part of the works I saw crystal bowls which rang like a gong when tapped. The ring of a glass or bowl, I was informed, is due to the amount of lead oxide used and for the best quality it may amount to 33 per cent. The quality of the sand is also important, and this firm imports all it uses from France, a fine white sand almost like salt. Such is the skill of the workmen here that I found no fear of competition from other countries. “We are not afraid of anyone,” said a director. “ Our only worry is to train enough men.” HOTEL SERVICE

Recently a rather unfavourable report on British hotels was published by a Special Committee which has been investigating the subject. In particular, it criticised the tipping system, poor heating, the lack of soap and towels, the casual attitude towards guests by the staff, and the breakfasts which it found were the worst meals of .the day. Americans have also been loud in their criticism, especially in regard to poor meals and the lack of iced water. From Mr S. R. Skinner, London representative of Mitchell’s Tours, who looks after scores of New Zealand tourists each year, I hear that New Zealanders do not echo these complaints. In general, they are well pleased with the hotels, but that, he thinks, may in part be a reaction to their experiences .in the Dominion. Many say they are delighted with the meals, and find them very much better than they had expected. DRIVING LICENCES A New Zealand friend of mine, who has been having difficulty in getting a British driving licence, advises any visitors tp bring their current licences with them. The production of a New Zealand licence automatically qualifies the holder for a British one, but if he cannot produce ; t he is in tor a lot of trouble. An exhaustive test is given, including an examination on the Road Code, and it is usual for 50 per cent, of applicants to be failed at the first attempt. If this happens, a month must elapse before a new trial. My friend said he failed on his initial test, when the gimlet-eyed inspector finally asked him how he “ would filter through traffic in a roundabout.” He passed on his second attempt, but not before some really intensive study.