Next SHAC on-line seminar, Thursday, 1 October 2026, 5pm (London time)
The next on-line seminar of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry will be given by Dr Rob Johnstone (UCL) who will present:
A horrible history of the English Glass Industry
This will be live on Thursday, 1 October 2026, beginning at 5.00pm (London time). The format will be a talk of 20-30 minutes, followed by a moderated discussion of half an hour.
To register please e-mail meetings@ambix.org with ‘SHAC on-line seminar’ in the subject line. You will then be sent a Zoom link on the morning of the seminar.
The seminar will be also accessible live on YouTube at
https://youtube.com/live/6UHqInKomRI
Most previous on-line seminars can be found on the SHAC YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/SocietyforHistoryofAlchemyandChemistry
A horrible history of the English Glass Industry
Rob Johnstone
This talk will outline the results of my PhD research which examined the development of the English glass industry between 1750 and 1860. This was during a time of population growth, urbanisation and transport improvements. At the same time, the revenue demanded to fund the expansion of the British military fiscal state led to the imposition of Excise Duties on manufacturers. In the talk I will examine the methods and controls by which the Excise Commissioners enforced the collection of the revenue from the industry and their impact on the development of the technology. We’ll look at the interplay between the industry, the Excise Commission and the Treasury over the period. New economic theories began to take root in the second decade of the 19th century which began to influence Government policy at the same time as new entrants to the business challenged the strictures and controls of the Excise Commission. There was a sudden flowering of new manufacturing developments in the 1830’s, a government inquiry into the Excise Commission which led to the relaxation and eventual repeal of the Excise Duties. A boom in glass manufacturing then occurred, followed by collapse and consolidation by 1860.