A source of British manufacturers, producers
and their products
About this site (accesskey: o)
Formatted version (accesskey: v)
British glass - Directories of British glass manufacturers, engravers & restorers (accesskey: g)
Prior to the late seventeeth century, table glass made in Britain copied the European and Venetian styles. However, with the development of lead crystal by George Ravenscroft in 1674 glassworkers were able to make heavier glassware and began to develop the English style.
Further refinements to the glassmaking process during the 18thC allowed the glass to be cut and engraved. By this time Britain was well populated with glassworks including London, Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle, Stourbridge, Scotland and Ireland.
During the 19thC and early 20thC Stourbridge ranked as Britain's leading area for blown glass, producing some of the finest examples of cameo, crystal, cased, applied and coloured glass along with cutting and engraving of the highest quality.
The last decade however, has seen the closure of almost all the remaining large glass companies based around the Stourbridge area.
With the demise of these large glass companies there has appeared a resurgence of small
workshops populated by studio craft artists inovating and developing new styles and designs. Once
again putting British glass back on the international stage.
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External site: Big Barn virtual farmers' market (accesskey: b)
External site: Good Food Pages - a guide to local produce in the UK.s (accesskey: f)
Local Produce from farmers markets and farm shops
With the increase in the number of farm shops and nearly 300 farmer's markets across the country, more and more people are now buying local produce.
Contrary to popular belief, buying local produce actually increases the consumers' choice, as many more varieties of produce are available than can be found on the supermarket shelves.
Buying local produce also helps the environment and our health.
We also help our local communities by buying locally. We stimulate trade, help local
employment, support small business and help stop the decline of our towns and villages.
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No longer made (as far as we know) but still available (accesskey: n)
For many years Britain led the world in developing standards, perhaps most notably in engineering.
During the industrial revolution, the development of standard metal sheet gauges and standard threads for screws, nuts and bolts allowed machines to be made with a high degree of accuracy. These in turn could then be used to make accurately dimensioned components.
Engineers will remember; British Standard Whitworth (BSW), British Association (BA) British Standard Pipe (BSP), British Standard Fine (BSF) and even a standard for cycle threads - British Standard Cycle (BSC). Many of these are still being used but are no longer widely available. More information on the history of British threaded fasteners can be found at: American Motorcyclist Association
Throughout British industry, products were made using standards based on imperial measurements, from engines through to building bricks.
In later years, these standards have been superseded by the metric system and although in many instances the metric equivalent to the imperial size is acceptable, in other cases it is not.
In restoration or even repair, it is generally important that an exact match is used rather than an equivalent.
This section of the directory hopes to address this problem.
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Buy British made gifts online. (accesskey: u)
Online stores with a prestigious range of handmade British gifts.
The British Gifts collection includes: Barometers, Clocks, Figurines (Collectibles), Garden
Faeries, Glassware (Lead crystal and art glass), Jewellery, Pen Sets, Pewter, Tantalus, British
Watercolours,.
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