The National Glass Centre is found on the
banks of the River Wear in Sunderland. The centre is close to the site of St
Peter’s Church, part of the Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory that was built in 674.
It was here that Benedict Biscop introduced glass making into Britain, by
hiring French glaziers to make the windows for the priory.
The glass making industry exploded in the 18th
century and Sunderland glass became known throughout the country. In later
years, the Pyrex brand of glassware was manufactured in Sunderland until 2007
when the last two remaining glass firms announced that they would close. The
centre opened in 1998 and is now free to visit; visitors can walk on its glass
roof and look down into the centre below. We had dinner in the Glass Centre café
which is directly below the glass roof.
While we were there, we were able to watch the
glass blowing demonstration which is run at intervals throughout the day along
with other demonstrations. The gift shop contains
lots of hand-crafted glass items.
We finished the day with a walk along Roker
beach which is only a 5 minute drive away.
