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Chance Brothers

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Wendy

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Robert L Chance (1782-1865) purchased with his brother William Chance (d 1856) a glass manufactory in Smethwick, in 1830. They were the first in Britain to establish the manufacture of sheet glass. The company supplied all the glass for The Crystal Palace. Two of his sons R.L.Chance (1821-1897) and John Homer Chance (1827-1900) became parteners in the firm in 1846 and 1853 respectively. Chanc glass were the inovators in producing optical glass and they supplied the glass for light houses.

In 1862 the company moved the Chemical side of the company to Oldbury in Worcester. The huge chimneys were typical of alkali works, they were built to release hydraulic acid fumes which were produced in the manufacturing process into the upper atmosphere and defuse there poluting effects, the attempt was not successful and led chemical manufacturers to develope means of condensing acid vapor before releasing fumes into the air

Chance glass was well known in the 60's and 70's for their glass ware like the handkercheif vase.
Some of the Chance family are buried at Key Hill Cemetery.
 
I am currently finishing off the first of two books on Chance Brothers. The first volume is called Chance Expressions and details the history of domestic glassware produced by the company and including a concise catalogue of all the glass it produced. Hopefully to be published at the end of this month.

The second volume, Chance Reflections, will cover the history ofthe company and the technologies it was involved with: lighthouses, optics, rolled glass engineering. I also hope to include memories of former workers, so would value any information that can be provided. Most particularly, photographs would be really welcome - not necessarily of the works, but ones demonstrating the social side as well. Also any ephemera or magazines like Pilks Cullet News or the Chance in-house magazine, Chance Comments are of particular interest.

I am already in touch with Smethwick Heritage Centre, and the peope have been most helpful. Their stock of Chance Comments is quite extensive, but there are a few gaps! Hopefully the Chance archives, currently at Pilkingtons at St Helens, will be "coming home" to Sandwell library in February next year, so this will keep me very busy!

I am also in touch with Ray Drury (last Chief Engineer) and Tony Cartwright (general manager of the Fiesta department), Howard Cosnett (transport) to name three. Do these names ring a bell? Do you know anyone who used to work at Chance? Any inforamtion, no matter how irrelevant you may feel it is, could be of great interest to me :)

I am also quite happy to talk to any collectors of Chance glass, and anyone is free to wander around my web site: www.chanceglass.net – feel free to contact me through the site e-mail address.
 
re Chance Glass

Momma P, I have kust been looking at your 2006 post re Chance Brothers, my Great Grandfatherx2 Edwin Bigland was a Stained Glass Gilder at Chance Brothers and represented them at the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851- I have found him lodging in Devon on the 1841 census so think he may well have been there with regards to the optical glass for lighthouses
 
Bigland how wonderful for you to have an ancestor connected to such a famous company. Have a look at the Handsworth site as John has posted. There is a picture of the interior of Crystal Palace on the John Henderson thread. Fox Henderson built the frame and Chance Bros filled it with glass. There is a member on the site named 'Last Chance' who has a large collection of Chance Glass. He is righting a couple of books about Chance Bros. I am sure he would be interested in your connection send him a PM. Good Luck. Wendy
 
Just alerting everyone to the fact that my book is published and can now be purchased. This is the first volume, called Chance Expressions, which will be followed by another (Chance Reflections) detailing the history and technologies employed by the company.

www.chanceglass.net - for more details


A4 (210 x 297mm) size, 148pp, full colour. Over 700 photos!

Regards,
David P. Encill
 
Thought I'd bump this up i ncase anyone missed it. Pity I cannot seem to track down any former employees through this forum, so if anyone can help it would be much appreciated.
 
I have now finished the first of two books on Chance Brothers and it is currently published. This volume is called Chance Expressions and details the history of domestic glassware produced by the company and includes a concise catalogue of all the glass it produced.

The second volume, Chance Reflections, will cover the history of the company and the technologies it was involved with: lighthouses, optics, rolled-glass engineering. I also hope to include memories of former workers, so would value any information that can be provided. Most particularly, photographs would be really welcome - not necessarily of the works, but ones demonstrating the social side as well. Also any ephemera or magazines like Pilkington's Cullet News or the Chance in-house magazine, Chance Comments are of particular interest.

I am already in touch with Broadfield House and Smethwick Heritage Centre, and the people there have been most helpful. The latter's stock of Chance Comments is quite extensive, but there are a few gaps! Hopefully the Chance archives, currently at Pilkingtons at St Helens, will be "coming home" to Sandwell library very soon, so this will keep me very busy!

I am also in touch with Ray Drury (last Chief Engineer) and Tony Cartwright (general manager of the Fiesta department), Howard Cosnett (transport) and Geoff Bennett (Pensioners Club). Do these names ring a bell? Do you know anyone who used to work at Chance? Any information, no matter how irrelevant you may feel it is, could be of great interest to me.

I am also quite happy to talk to any collectors of Chance glass, and anyone is free to wander around my web site: www.chanceglass.net as it gives a small insight to what my aims are – feel free to contact me through the site e-mail address.
 
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Many thanks Pom!

However, there might even be another book after Chance Reflections! I have amassed a good deal of information on Birmingham glassmakers, which have become overshadowed somewhat by the Stourbridge firms and feel it will be exploring further.

Although my interests focus around glass and glassmaking, as a publisher I am also interested in producing other books on local heritage. I reckon that everyone has a story to tell... ;)
 
Is this a B'Ham History fundraiser idea?

Last Chance said:
Many thanks Pom!

However, there might even be another book after Chance Reflections! I have amassed a good deal of information on Birmingham glassmakers, which have become overshadowed somewhat by the Stourbridge firms and feel it will be exploring further.

Although my interests focus around glass and glassmaking, as a publisher I am also interested in producing other books on local heritage. I reckon that everyone has a story to tell... ;)
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome to the forum. I have been very interested to read about the huge amount of research work and effort you have put into your project about Glassmakers.

Yes just as you sumise I think everyone does have an interesting story to tell. As you have found there is a lot of knowledge and interaction on this website and it could be harnessed in a positive way to help the Birmingham History Website raise some funds.

With your help, we could look into publishing a book about Birmingham History and the families who came to Birmingham and were part of the industrial revolution, building Birmingham it into the city it is today.

We could all be part of it all with our own interesting family and local history contributions, with perhaps a foreword by the lovely helpful Carl Chinn. Other people have published books about less interesting subjects than this so why not one from the members of the Birmingham history Web?

Would it be too cheeky to ask you as a publisher to start another thread on this forum and give us all some tips about what exactly a publisher would expect from anyone wanting to begin writing a book about family or local history.

The type of things which would be useful to know would be which desktop programme to use ie Word, or the family tree book maker which is not as flexible, what manuscript margins to use, how many chapters or words are acceptable, what about pictures and illustrations, do we need a page number. How much help will the publisher be to beginners?

This is a lot of questions but I would be really interested in your reply.

regards
Louisa
 
No problems, Louisa, and not cheeky at all! ;) I'll write something up this afternoon.

I am very impressed with this forum but have been slightly bemused as to the best place to post, or start, some topics. Getting to grips with it though.

However, can you advise or suggest the best place to post a general topic covering publishing hints & tips?
 
Thanks for the help

Hi Last Chance
Thank you so much for your help.

I have started a new thread called Tips on Publishing a Birmingham Family History on the Help, Advice, Tips and Tricks section.

You just click on the reply button at the top of the page as usual.

I am looking forward to your publisher tips and comments on publishing a family or social history.

I suppose it would be even more cheeky to ask for a members discount on any self funded family history publications? Well you have to ask in this day and age dont you.;)

Regards
Louisa
 
I suppose it would be even more cheeky to ask for a members discount on any self funded family history publications?
Click to expand...
If you were looking to self-publish, then this would be an arrangement between yourself and the printer. I can suggest a very good company based in Ladywood: Birbeck and Sons (www.birbeckonline.co.uk) and the owner, David Rollason, can give competitive quotes. Alternatively, use Birbeck's online quote system:

https://birbeck.red-tie.com/

As a publisher, my company is involved with the acquisition, editing, proofreading and compilation of a book, and this involves a substantial input of time.

Anyway, I'll get back to finishing the hints and tips adn post this later...
 
Hello Last Chance,

What about the Black Country Bugle? But you probably already know about their extensive coverage of Chance Brothers over the years. They've published loads of interesting articles, photo's, readers letters, (from many who worked there), memorabilia etc.

At 45p this is a great little weekly paper and a great read, particularly if you happen to have Black Country ancestors. Many of their readers are into genealogy.:)
 
Thanks Florence. I have made the odd trip onto their web site in the past: www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk and this has revealed some interesting facts - thanks for re-reminding me though! There is also the Blackcountryman magazine, a monthly publication, and Smethwick Heritage Centre, which also issues a monthly mag.

The other reason for my appeal is not just to meet and chat with former workers, but also to see if any glass or paperwork is around that I can use. After all, it is over 30 years since the Chance factory stopped producing its main glass product, rolled-plate (although Fiestaware was produced until 1981) and the memories of workers can be a little hazy, and is why printed material can prove invaluable.
 
Hello david thank you for agreeing to look at my glass, as I said in my PM the lady who sold it to me about 10 years ago said it was a posy holder, but it is only 2.5 inches high, so it seems a little bit small for that, anyhow if you can help I would be grateful, also thank you for the link I will take a look later.
 
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Judging by the size it could be a salt. But it looks to be cut lead-crystal and in that case, probably a Stourbridge maker. There are several, but Thomas Webb, Webb Corbett, Stuart, Brierley are companies that spring immediately to mind.

Cut crystal is not really my field – if it was modernist art-cut glass I would have been interested in it though.

I suggest you post it on www.glassmessages.com, which is another forum I use.
 
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Thank you david, I thought it might be a salt but wasn't sure if it was wide enough, and thanks for the link I will try that.
 
I will have to get used to the glass forum, it's different to this one, there dosen't seem to be a page where you can see how many people are online, I'll just keep checking. I'll let you know how I get on, and thanks again.
 
Someone has sugested a tooth pick holder, and I've got used to how to use the site runs now, it's a great site thanks again.
 
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This site has threaded postings (something that took me a while to get used to) and GMB is a simpler flat directory. A very mature board that's been running for several years - all are welcome!

You can see the number of people online on the homepage, near the bottom. Christine's suggestion of a toothpick holder seems quite valid (she edited my last book incidentally).
 
Sorry, can't help you with employee details but thought you may like this.
 
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Thanks postie. All ephemera of this nature is of interest. If you wanted to send a larger scan this would be appreciated (e-mail via www.chanceglass.net if you prefer.)

Only two weeks ago I actually cleared what I could from the old Chance office building, next to the 7-storey. This is being demolished and the paperwork, some going back to the 1920s, was just left scattered all over the floor. Much of it was work records and of little interest (would have taken a century to disseminate as well!) but there were some gems I managed to retrieve.

Attached are just two photos I took - there was much more - to give people an idea of the task I faced.
 
Thanks for that John. Chance was known to have many links with Russia and this even continued after the Revolution - I have seen documents relating to a visit by its engineers in the 1920s. This report dates the relationship a little further back than I imagined, given that Chance had only started producing optical glass around 1850 – quite an advance in just 8 years!

Eventually, though, Chance was producing every part and came to dominate the domestic lighthouse industry and was certainly a big-hitter internationally.
 
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