Davis, Greathead and Green, Stourbridge, 1850-1860.
Information extracted from Jason Ellis’s ‘Glassmakers of Stourbridge and Dudley 1612-2002…’, published by the author in 2002:
Benjamin Richardson credited Thomas Wheeley with having built two cones ‘near the long canal bridge in Brettell Lane and on the north side of the Stourbridge canal.’ There was one glass house with ten pots in 1796, and a second cone was added between 1812 and 1822. By 1834 Thomas Wheeler’s second eldest son, William Seager Wheeley, was running the glasshouse in partnership with his younger brother, John Wheeley, and John Davis, who lived near the works in Brettell Lane. The following year the products of the firm were ‘flint glass, plain and cut’. In the early 1840s, the partners were involved in a fraud scandal involving the excise duty on exported glass, and the business subsequently failed between 1841 and 1845.
John Davis escaped from the scandal, probably unaware of the fraud being perpetrated by his partners, although he was left with considerable debt. On 24 June 1846 John Davis leased the glassworks from William Seager Wheeley for twenty-one years. In 1850 Davis formed a partnership with William Greathead and Richard Green, with Davis essentially being the dominant partner.
Greathead had worked for William Gammon, glass manufacturer of Aston , near Birmingham, then from 1836 to 1843 at Hawkes’ Dudley Flint glass works, the last two years as a partner. After the failure of Hawkes’ business, he then spent a further seven years at Badgers’ Phoenix Glassworks.
Richard Green was also very experienced having been in the glass trade since joining Hawkes’ in 1837 at the age of fifteen .
The Great Exhibition of 1851, held in the Crystal palace in Hyde Park, gave the newly formed firm of Davis, Greathead and Green an excellent opportunity to display its ware. The official catalogue shows examples of their painted glass imitations of Greek pottery. Their exhibits included: “a great variety of vases, jars, and scent jars for holding flowers, &c. in the Egyptian, Etruscan and Grecian styles;many of them cut, coated, gilt , painted in enamel colours, after the antique, with figures ornaments, flowers, landscapes , and marine views, of the following colours, viz. ruby, oriental blue, chrysoprase, turquoise, black, colour, opalescent blue, cornelian, opal frosted , pearl opal, mazareene blue, &c., Topaz, flints &c.”
In 1860, Davis, Greathead and Green vacated Brettell Lane glassworks and moved to Dial Glasshouses. The Brettell Lane glassworks was then altered and used for a time as an ironworks; the glasshouse being known as ‘the old shell’. By 1882, probably much earlier, it became unsafe and was demolished. In 1934 Samuel Taylor & Son’s chain and anchor works covered the original site.
Fred.