James Powell and Sons

The firm of James Powell and Sons, also known as Whitefriars Glass, were English glassmakers and leadlighters from the 17th century.

In 1834 James Powell (1774-1840), a London wine merchant and entrepreneur, purchased the Whitefriars Glass Company, a small glassworks off Fleet Street in London, believed to have been established in 1680. Powell and his sons were newcomers to glass making, but soon acquired the necessary expertise. They experimented and developed new techniques, devoting a large part of their production to the creating of church stained glass windows. The firm acquired a large number of patents for their new ideas and became world leaders in their field, business being boosted by the building of hundreds of new churches during the Victorian era. A major production of their factory was decorative quarry glass which was mass-produced by moulding and printing, rather than hand-cutting and painting. Surprisingly few of these windows remain as most have been replaced by pictorial stained glass.

During the latter part of the 1800s the firm formed a close association with leading architects and designers such as T G Jackson, Edward Burne Jones, William De Morgan and James Doyle. Whitefriars produced the glass that Philip Webb used in his designs for William Morris. The firm’s production diversified in the 1850s to include domestic table glass after supplying the glassware for William Morris's Red House.

In 1875 Harry James Powell, grandson of the founder and an Oxford graduate in chemistry, joined the business. His training, which led to more scientific production and innovations such as previously unattainable colours and heat-resistant glass, for applications in science and industry, like X-ray tubes and light bulbs.

New production lines such as opalescent glass proved to be extremely successful. The firm took part in major exhibitions around the world. Designs were copied from historical Venetian and Roman glass found in European museums and art galleries. Harry Powell, an admirer of Ruskin delivered numerous lectures on glass manufacture.

The firm's name was changed to Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd in 1919 and the growth in business demanded new premises. In 1923 the new factory was opened in Wealdstone.

Despite a flourishing business, the great expense of the new factory scuttled plans to construct a village to house the workers in a style fashionable during the Arts and Crafts movement.

In the years between WWI and WWII, business and the financial situation were much improved.Glassware trended to the colourful and heavy, and optic moulding and wheel engraving played a major part in bringing the Art Deco style to the middle and upper classes.

In the 1930s the firm started production of millefiori paperweights, characterised by shallow domes and wide bases. In 1962 the company name was changed back to Whitefriars Glass Ltd., until its purchase in 1981 by Caithness Glass. [http://www.rafa.com/paperweight.htm]

This period of prosperity was ended with the onset of WWII. Glass manufacture was restricted to that aiding the war effort.Cessation of hostilities found the company in a desperate struggle for survival, aggravated by the loss of key personnel who had enlisted and not returned.

The Festival of Britain of 1951 led to a much-needed financial infusion for the economy. Whitefriars was selected as an outstanding example of modern British industry. The following years saw austere and functional Scandinavian design sweeping Europe, and dominating stock purchases by major outlets such as Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason. The arrival of glass bricks which were cheap, thick slabs of coloured glass set in concrete bricks, dispensed with the need for expensive stained glass in new churches. [ [http://www.whitefriars.com/history1.php Whitefriars] ]

ee also

* Stained glass
* Stained glass - British glass, 1811-1918
* Victorian Era
* Gothic Revival

External links

* [http://www.rafa.com/whitefriars.htm Whitefriars paperweights]

Bibliography

*"Whitefriars Glass - James Powell & Sons", Wendy Evans, (The Museum of London)

References

Gallery