Topic: Lowdown on Liskeard

[David E]

I know there was a little debate about Liskeard, the date they started, and the founders.

I managed to locate a report in Tableware International, dated September 1972, where they mention the company started "in September last", meaning the true start date is September 1971.

The quality of the photo is not terribly good, but click on the larger photo to zoom in further.

http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-3603

[Pip]

Well done David! That's an excellent bit of sleuthing - also, wasn't there some confusion about the founders being ex-Whitefriars employees - your article says they met at Wedgwood so that's another useful bit of info.

[Anne]

Would the Andrew Moncrieff mentioned be connected to the Monart Moncrieff's?

[David E]

Thanks Pip, I wasn't sure if this 'problem' was ever resolved or not!

Would the Andrew Moncrieff mentioned be connected to the Monart Moncrieff's?

I did wonder - waiting for Frank to chip in... :wink:

[aa]

Would the Andrew Moncrieff mentioned be connected to the Monart Moncrieff's?

The answer to this is yes...... and no! He shared the name but was not related to the owners. However, he was connected.  From memory, Andy did his apprenticeship at John Moncrieff's and remained there when it became Strathern. When he joined me in 1987 at my Turnmill Studio in London's Turnmill Street, he had just been made redundant by Wedgwood Glass in King's Lynn where he moved after leaving Liskeard. Caithness had just bought the Kings Lynn factory from Wedgwood and he was with me from 1987 to 1989, together with his son Alistair (Ally). I think after that he may have switched careers, but I think Alistair moved into flat glass decoration.

I will have to think about this a bit, and I cannot promise anything, but I have a vague recollection that he moved from Strathern to Wedgwood, then left Wedgwood to go to Liskeard and then went back to Wedgwood. But I am delving into the depths of my rapidly diminishing grey cells, so I am not 100% sure. Some of these comments tie in with another thread in the Cafe, about accuracy!

[David E]

Thanks Adam, that's most illuminating. I didn't realise you knew him so well

[glassaddict]

I drove along Station Road this afternoon (I live near Liskeard). BTW I think Lisgeard is an old spelling for Liskeard hence the confusion in earlier posts. Should I have called and got them to read this forum?  :lol:
Hil

[stevetheb]

I too live in Liskeard about 500 metres from Liskeard Glass... before that I lived near King's Lynn and used to frequent both Wedgwood and later Caithness.. indeed my wife at the time used to work at Caithness...

[Pip]

I too live in Liskeard about 500 metres from Liskeard Glass... before that I lived near King's Lynn and used to frequent both Wedgwood and later Caithness.. indeed my wife at the time used to work at Caithness...

Hey, several months ago I sold a purple Liskeard knobbly on eBay to a Steve who lived very near the glassworks - would that be you?  

[KevinH]

Adam a wrote:

... Andy did his apprenticeship at John Moncrieff's and remained there when it became Strathern.

I think this may be an example of what Adam called his "diminishing grey cells" (but may more truthfully just be a mix up of partially remembered facts).

I don't think John Moncrieff's "became Strahearn", as that was a restructuring and renaming of the former Vasart Ltd, which itself was a restructured version of the original Ysart Brothers Glass. The founders of Ysart Brothers Glass were, of course, three of the Ysart family who were formerly at John Moncrieff's.

But was there a connection in some way between Moncrieff's and Stuart Strathearn, post 1980, after Stuart Crystal had taken over Strathearn from the guys at Teachers Whiskey?