Chance Brothers
Robert Lucas Chance purchased the British Crown Glass Company's works in Spon Lane during November 1822. The site sat between Birmingham and the Black Country within the industrial heartland of the Midlands. This location provided access to skilled workers, canals, and many advances taking place at that time. The company initially specialized in making crown window glass for local use. Business difficulties arose quickly after the purchase. Survival was guaranteed in 1832 by investment from Lucas's brother William. William owned an iron factoring business on Great Charles Street in Birmingham. After a partnership with the Hartley Brothers dissolved in 1836, Lucas and William became partners. They renamed the enterprise Chance Brothers and Company. The family originated as farmers and craftsmen in Bromsgrove before moving their operations to Smethwick.
Chance Brothers became one of the earliest glassworks to carry out the cylinder process in Europe. In 1832, it made the first British cylinder blown sheet glass using French and Belgian workers. A new process to grind plate glass surfaces was patented by James Timmins Chance in 1839. Georges Bontemps arrived from Choisy-le-Roi to supervise a plant set up in 1848. He had purchased the secret of the stirrer after the deaths of Pierre Louis Guinand and Joseph von Fraunhofer. Bontemps stayed in England to collaborate with them for six years. Just three other companies in Britain made glass in the same way at that time. These included Pilkington of St Helens, Hartleys of Sunderland, and Cooksons of Newcastle. The company produced crown and flint glass for lighthouse optics, telescopes, and cameras. They manufactured a 24-inch flint glass lens for the Craig telescope. Thames Plate Glass Company made the other part of this doublet lens.
Other major projects included glazing the Crystal Palace to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The firm also supplied glass for the Houses of Parliament which were built between 1840 and 1860. At that time it was the only firm able to make opal glass for the four faces of the Westminster Clock Tower. This tower houses the famous bell known as Big Ben. Ornamental windows for the White House in America were also made there. Chance Brothers produced stained glass windows, ornamental lamp shades, microscope glass slides, painted glassware, and glass tubing. Elihu Burritt once said about the works that no other establishment offered such a full idea of the infinite uses of glass. In 1900, a baronetcy was created for James Timmins Chance who became head until his retirement in 1889. He was the first baronet of the family line.
The company expanded significantly during World War I through partnership with the Ministry of Munitions Optical Munitions and Glass Department. In the early 20th century, new ways of making glass evolved at Chance Brothers. These included innovative welding of cathode-ray tubes used for radar detection. During World War II, the company produced up to 7,000 cathode-ray tubes per week for early radar sets. The artist Mervyn Peake was commissioned by the War Artists Advisory Committee to paint pictures recording this work in 1943. In 1933, the company attempted to contact intelligent life on Mars using adapted lighthouse optics from a mountaintop called Jungfrau in Switzerland. Chance developed cathode-ray tubes just before the outbreak of World War II. They used Hysil glass which is a borosilicate glass similar to Pyrex. These tubes were precursors to CRT television screens and were used for radar detection displays.
Pilkington Brothers acquired a 50% shareholding in 1945 but the Chance operation continued largely separately managed. A factory was established in Malvern, Worcestershire in 1947 to specialize in laboratory glass. This operation became an arms-length subsidiary. By the end of 1952, Pilkington had assumed full financial control of Chance Brothers. They were not actively involved in management until the mid- to late-1960s. When plastic disposable syringes displaced glass in the late 1960s, the range of precision bore products diversified. Flat glass production ceased at Smethwick in 1976. The remainder of the works closed in 1981 ending more than 150 years of glass production there. Remaining glass tube processing moved to the Malvern plant. In 1992, during a period of rationalization at Pilkingtons, a management buy-out reverted the Chance plant to private ownership. It changed its registered name to Chance Glass Limited while retaining the historical logo.
Chance popularized slumped glass tableware that included many innovative designs. The famous Swirl pattern appeared in 1955 and Lace followed in 1951. Night Sky arrived in 1957 with Green Leaves coming in 1958. Calypto was introduced in 1959 with floral depictions from 1965 featuring Anemone. A glass ashtray from the Sights of London series was designed by Kenneth Townsend in the 1970s. Another design called King of Hearts retained its maker's sticker showing it as part of the Pilkington Group. The company produced pressed and slumped glassware between 1929 and 1981. These items became widely recognized examples of mid-twentieth century British design. The Malvern plant continues to function today as a specialized industrial glass manufacturer under private ownership.
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Common questions
When did Robert Lucas Chance purchase the British Crown Glass Company's works in Spon Lane?
Robert Lucas Chance purchased the British Crown Glass Company's works in Spon Lane during November 1822. The site sat between Birmingham and the Black Country within the industrial heartland of the Midlands.
Who were the partners that renamed the enterprise to Chance Brothers and Company after 1836?
Lucas and William became partners after a partnership with the Hartley Brothers dissolved in 1836. They renamed the enterprise Chance Brothers and Company following this dissolution.
What major project involved glazing the Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition of 1851?
Chance Brothers glazed the Crystal Palace to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. This firm also supplied glass for the Houses of Parliament which were built between 1840 and 1860.
How many cathode-ray tubes per week did Chance Brothers produce during World War II?
During World War II, the company produced up to 7,000 cathode-ray tubes per week for early radar sets. These tubes used Hysil glass which is a borosilicate glass similar to Pyrex.
When did flat glass production cease at Smethwick and when did the remainder of the works close?
Flat glass production ceased at Smethwick in 1976. The remainder of the works closed in 1981 ending more than 150 years of glass production there.