Broad sheet glass

"Broad sheet" redirects here. For the largest newspaper format, see Broadsheet. For other uses, see Broadsheet (disambiguation).

Broad sheet glass is a type of blown glass used for windows. It was first made in Sussex in 1226.[1]

Production

Broad sheet glass is made by blowing molten glass into an elongated tube shape with a blowpipe. Then, while the glass is still hot, the ends are cut off and the resulting cylinder is split with shears and flattened on an iron plate. The quality of broad sheet glass was poor, with many imperfections and mostly translucent.[2] Due to the small size of the resulting piece of glass, broad sheet was typically used in leaded windows which are made up of multiple small pieces of glass joined with lead. The center of the window piece was commonly used for decoration in places where looking through the glass wasn't vital. If the piece was large, it was possible to see bubble tracks and strain lines.[3]

Broad sheet and other methods for making hand-blown glass for windows lasted until the 19th century when plate glass became the common form of window glass. [4]

Broad sheet glass was first made in the UK in[5] Chiddingfold, Surrey on the border with Sussex in 1226. In 1240 an order[6] was placed for this glass to be used in Westminster Abbey. This glass was of poor quality, and although it let in light it was not transparent. Manufacture slowly decreased and ceased by the early 16th century. The choice of this location[7] may have been due to the availability of sand, the abundance of bracken, the ash of which can be used to make potash (specifically sodium carbonate) for soda-lime glass. The nearby significant beech forests provided charcoal as fuel for the kiln. Examples of glass from this area can be found in Guildford Museum.

French glass-makers and others were making broad sheet glass earlier than this[1] notably William Le Verrier, Schurterrers and John Alemayne.[6] Between 1350 and 1356 Alemayne[6] secured orders for glass to be used in St. Stephens Chapel, Westminster and St Georges Chapel, Windsor.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Glass | the Regency Town House".
  2. ^ Forsyth, M. (2008). "Window Glass". In Forsyth, M. (ed.). Materials & Skills for Historic Building Conservation.
  3. ^ "Making Tubes & Sheets of Glass".
  4. ^ Daniel Jutte (2023). Transparency. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-23724-5. OL 39761707M.
  5. ^ "Parishes: Chiddingfold | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  6. ^ a b c Thorpe, W (1935). English Glass. London England: A & C Black Ltd. p. 81.
  7. ^ Hughes, G Bernard (1969). English Glass for The Collector 1660-1860. London: Lutterworth Press. pp. 13, 14.



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