Seaham seaglass

Candlish Bottleworks and glass foundry was built on the cliffs at Seaham, County Durham, and began producing glass in 1853. It made almost every colour imaginable for medicine and poison bottles, vases and homewares and everyday drinks bottles. Reds, blues, yellows and even opaque glass were made in its furnaces.

Candlish bottleworks, Seaham

At the end of each day the excess molten glass and any broken pieces were thrown over the cliffs into the sea. The beach below has one of the highest percentages of seaglass of any beach in the world. This information alone is enough cause paroxysms of excitement and pilgrimages to Co. Durham for most crafters but add the fact that the factory closed in 1921 and therefore the majority of the seaglass pebbles are at least 90 years old and there is danger of overload. This glass is precious stuff, yet you can simply drive to Seaham and pick it up.

Last summer I made a pilgrimage from Nana's house in N Yorkshire. The siren call of the treasure was just too strong to resist. Heavens to Betsy - such treasure. Here's just a little of what I found:

Swoon. See that blue piece near the top right? It has stripes. It's called 'end of day' glass, formed when different colours of glass were used to make different products during a single day, then the accumulated stripey glass was chucked into the sea.

I go into a slightly meditative state when I'm beachcombing. I can forget everything and just focus on the search for treasure. Those two hours or so spent on Seaham beach were good.

Using this seaglass to make jewellery is thrilling. I love the thought of the ninety or more years the glass has been in the sea, the thousands of times it has tumbled over pebbles and been washed against the beach. I like to think of the poison bottle or vase that batch of glass may have been used to make and the year in which is may have been made. The colours are wonderful and I especially love the subtle aqua shades and vivid blues. Combining the smooth glass pebbles with shells, mother of pearl buttons from the 1930s and facetted fluorite makes little collections of tiny treasures similar to the ones the girls and I collect on Southwold beach.

I made a necklace using Seaham seaglass for Lucy of Attic24 in our seaside-themed swap last year. The arrival of the wonderful warm Spring sunshine and a request for two seaside-themed commssions made me dig out my the rest of my drilled stash and *ahem* order a little more from Paula who collects and drills her Seaham beach finds.
     

A small collection of necklaces that I have made using this wonderful antique glass is in my Etsy shop.

Note: there are still spaces available on my Beginner's silver clay workshop on Saturday 22nd June.