The GLASS SELLERNewsletter of The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London

Issue Twenty Seven September 2011

Whittlebury Hall Hotel, near Towcester,lies close to the home of British

Motor Racing at Silverstone. Its other claimto fame is that it hosted the 2011 Master’sJolly for five days from Wednesday 22 Mayto the following Sunday!

A total of 65 Glass Sellers and theirGuests attended and were greeted on thefirst day by Master Martin Scarth andMistress Elisabeth at Afternoon Tea – andso began a full and interesting programmeof events.

The innovative schedule showed that wewere to hear a short address each day by aspeaker from our own ranks. The first ofthese, following Afternoon Tea, wasAssistant to the Court Barbara Beadmanably assisted by her husband Richard.

Tudor Crystal Design Ltd andPlowden and Thompson Ltd

Both companies are owned and managedby Barbara and Richard.

Barbara’s start point was 1658 with the

advent of glass making in the Stourbridgearea, and traced its history to 1829 whenThomas Webb began making glass. Webbmoved to The White House Glassworks –the home of Stuart Crystal – in 1834 andTudor Crystal Design is a directdescendant of Thomas Webb’s enterprise.Tudor Crystal is a well-known, high profilebrand name.

Plowden and Thompson, established in1922, is a specialist Glass Manufacturer in

blown and pressed components, andsupplier of coloured glass for studio useand bead making. In contrast with TudorCrystal, this is clearly a niche marketCompany and its products are very wellknown in the trade.

Barbara’s talk was wide ranging and fullof interesting detail. In one snippet, shepointed out that the ‘Stourbridge Glass’name is a marketing ploy dating back to themid 1600’s. Stourbridge was simply a goodbusiness address. There has never been a u

A foray into the East Midlands...

18 May 2011

Barbara and Richard Beadman

Interesting exhibits

Waddesdon Manor

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glass house in Stourbridge Town! During and after her talk, the audience

was buzzing with questions and hernumerous exhibits attracted much attention.

It was a stimulating start to ourprogramme and we went into Dinner full ofanticipation for Day 2.

A Cathedral and a School...19 May 2011

We headed bycoach for theCity of Coventry,just over theborder in theWest Midlands,our destinationCoventryCathedral.

The secondpresentation of theJolly, by Past

Master Professor John Whiteman,preceded a tour of the Cathedral

John’s presentation included a briefhistory of Coventry Cathedral and hisfamily company, Coventry Glass.

His brief history ranged from 1095,when the first Cathedral Church ofCoventry was designated, to 1373, whenthe rebuilding of St Michael’s ParishChurch was commenced, and on to 1918,when the Diocese of Coventry wasfounded and St Michael’s designatedCathedral. In 1940, St Michael’sCathedral was destroyed in an infamousair raid.

John went on to explain that Coventryhas been a major centre for Silks, Watches,Cycles, Cars, Aeronautics, and continuesto develop and diversify to meet the needsof world-wide markets.

The family company, Glass (Coventry)Ltd, was formed in 1929 as a split off fromGlass and Plumbing Ltd. It flourished, aspart of a thriving industrial community.

The Company’s links with the Cathedralinclude the glazing of the SwedishWindows and the glass table in the Chapelof Unity, which was presented by theWhiteman Family. Early condensationproblems – and just think of the size andnumber of windows involved – wereresolved by Glass Coventry.

The presentation ended with a welldeserved round of applause.

A private buffet luncheon was served inthe Cathedral Visitor Centre andafterwards we toured the Cathedral.

In 1956 the foundation stone for this, thethird Coventry Cathedral, was laid and theCathedral was consecrated on 25 May 1962.

It is an impossible task to give a detailedaccount of the wonderful architecture,stained glass, Chapels, the High Altar andthe Tapestry ‘Christ in Glory’. The impactof the building cannot be overstated norcan the poignancy of the ruins of theoriginal Cathedral.

Sir Basil Spence, the appointedArchitect, was one of 219 applicants whosubmitted plans for the Cathedral.

He saw the Cathedral ruins as standingfor Sacrifice, one side of the ChristianFaith, and knew the New Cathedral wouldstand for the Triumph of the Resurrection.

Our tour enabled us to see the glorious

stained glass windows both close up andacross the width of the Cathedral. In thesunlight, they were a wonderful blaze ofcolour which enthralled us all.

The most powerful image was to lookback at the High Altar and the Tapestry‘Christ in Glory’. In the Cathedral’sVisitor’s Guide it says – ‘The Cathedralshould be built to enshrine the altar. Thisshould be the ideal of the Architect, not toconceive a building and to place in it analtar, but to conceive an altar, and tocreate a building’.

Looking on the Tapestry and the HighAltar with its Cross of Nails we saw thecomplete physicalrepresentation of these words.

Most of the groupreturned to the coachwhere the roll call wastaken – Past Master BillCook was missing! In thedistance a runningfigure was spotted andwe recognised ourmissing Past Master.He made it to his seatclutching his back pack whichhad been left behind in theCathedral!

Condensation! A nave window

A query from Richard Katz

Animated discussion

The Consecration

Past Master John Whiteman

Christ in Glory

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The Blue Coat School

The original Blue Coat School wasfounded in 1714 close to Holy TrinityChurch as a charity school for girls. Thepupils had a distinctive uniform of darkblue dresses and capes with white caps andyellow mittens. The Charity School wasclosed in 1940. A new school for boysand girls of all abilities was opened onthe present site in 1964.

We were greeted with tremendousenthusiasm by Staff members and thepupils involved in the Glass in SocietyProject. A welcome stream of tea, coffeeand cake appeared. Everyone was struckby the confidence and courtesy of ouryoung hosts who led us to the laboratoriesto show us the work they had been doing.

Assistant to the Court, MariaChanmugam, described their project: “TheGlass in Society project at the Blue CoatCE School, Coventry posed the question,Can glass beads be used to cure cancer?

Recent research suggests that glass canbe used to provide localised areas ofheating above 40ºC within the humanbody, providing a technique for destroyingcancer cells.

Pupils at the Blue Coat School areinvestigating how to make the best heatretaining glass beads.

Those Glass Sellers present were veryimpressed by what they saw. Theenthusiasm of the students and thededication of the teachers make our supportvery worthwhile indeed. The project is on-going and progress will be reported to allmembers of the Court and Livery”.

We returned to our hotel after the BlueCoat presentation reflecting on a busy andthought provoking day.

Astatelyhome...20 May 2011

Today we have a single activity – a visitto Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire.

We arrived at Waddesdon and dividedinto groups for a guided tour of the groundfloor. The plan was for a guided tour of theGround Floor followed by lunch in theManor Restaurant, after which we couldroam freely in the upper floors of theHouse, or in the Gardens.

The Rothschild banking dynasty grewfrom its roots in the Jewish Ghetto inFrankfurt, when Mayer Amschel’s five sonsset up a banking network in the five majorfinancial centres of Europe – London,Frankfurt, Paris, Naples and Vienna. Theywere known as the Five Arrows, createdvast wealth, and established themselves atthe peak of European Society.

Waddesdon Manor was built between1874 and 1889 by Baron Ferdinand deRothschild as a Renaissance-style Chateauto display his outstanding collection of arttreasures, and to entertain the fashionableworld. The ‘Five Arrows’ motif is inevidence throughout the Manor.

The structural design of Waddesonincluded the most modern innovations ofthe late 1800’s, including a steel framewhich supported the upper floors, thuspermitting the layout of these floors todiffer completely from those below. Thehouse had hot and cold running water,central heating, and an electric bell systemto summon the many servants.

Ferdinand de Rothschild died in 1898and his sister and heir, Alice, maintainedthe Manor, the Collection and the Grounds.James’ main interest was horse racing and,as a consequence, he built the Stud atWaddesdon.

Following James’ death in 1957,Waddesdon Manor was bequeathed to theNational Trust and opened to the Public.

Nowadays the Manor is run by a FamilyCharitable Trust, chaired by the presentLord Rothschild.

During our tour we saw early Frenchfurniture, English Portraits, Dutch OldMasters and other decorative Arts from theEighteenth Century, one of the finestcollections of Sevres Porcelain and evenMarie-Antoinette’s writing desk!

We returned to our Hotel, somewhatoverwhelmed by all we had seen.

Every glass has a storyThat evening we gathered for a talk by

Liveryman Maurice McLain entitled‘Every Glass Has a Story’.

Maurice has been a collector of drinking

glasses and miniature paintings for 30 yearsand opened his talk in light-hearted fashion.

A few miles away from our hotel, StonyStratford straddles Watling Street – the oldRoman Road. A pair of coaching Innsalongside Watling Street named ‘TheCock’ and ‘The Bull’ are said to havegiven rise to the term “cock and bullstories”. Coaches would stop at the Innsand the travellers’ tall tales would beembellished as they passed between thetwo hostelries, fuelled by drink andgullible audiences.

Maurice hoped that our proximity toStony Stratford would not influence ourperception of his talk!

We were shown several examples ofMaurice’s collection. Many of them wereaccompanied by amusing anecdotes, but insome cases the story was rather grim.

Amen Glasses, for instance, wereinscribed with seditious verses. They datefromthe Jacobite Period, and the Royalstruggle between the Protestant andCatholic Faiths. Maurice gave the exampleof a Glass which had been broken byBonnie Prince Charlie to destroy it, whichwas ‘repaired’ by Patrick Murray his host, aSilversmith. He fashioned a new silver footfor the broken glass, and inscribed it ‘GodBless James VIII’. James VIII was in exilein France and not recognised by theProtestant Royalty. Patrick Murray wasunwise enough to add his own Silversmith’sMark. The glass was eventually discovered,the mark recognised, and Patrick washanged for sedition.

The Master and Mistress drank winefrom that very same glass – one ofMaurice’s prized possessions.

A similar dissident toast was frequently

Explanation!

Just arrived

A seditious drink?

Careful!

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drunk to ‘the Wee Man in the Black VelvetJacket’. It refers to a mole. King WilliamIII was out riding when his horse put a hoofinto a mole hole and threw the King. Theinjuries from this mishap eventually led tothe King’s death.

Maurice brought his talk to a conclusionwith items from his collection of MiniaturePaintings.

He kept his audience enthralled andamused, and generated many questions.The room was alive with conversation andhis display eagerly examined before weretired to the dining room for dinner.

and an amazingexperiencewith CodeBreakers...21 May 2011

Today our destination was BletchleyPark, home of the wartime code breakers.

We were given a guided tour of theBletchley Park site during the morning,followed by a sandwich lunch. In theafternoon we were free to roam the site andvisit some of the many exhibitions.

In 1883, Herbert Samuel Leon boughtover 300 acres of land in Bletchley,developing 60 of them into his CountryEstate. He was one of Bletchley’s greatestbenefactors, and was awarded a baronetcyin 1911.

In 1938 the property was threatened withdemolition but war threatened. TheGovernment needed a secure locationwhere its intelligence work could becarried out in relative safety and secrecy.

Bletchley Park was chosen. The Enigma Cipher, invented in 1918,

was used for German Military andIntelligence Communications. It wasconsidered unbreakable due to itscomplexity – the odds against the codebeing broken were 150 million, million,million to 1. Polish cryptanalysts hadbroken Enigma in 1932 when the machinewas undergoing trials, but at that time thecipher altered once every few months. Withthe advent of war the code changed daily.

In July 1939 the Poles passed theirknowledge on to the British and Frenchwhich enabled our code breakers to makecritical progress. The code breakersconcentrating on the German Army andAir Force were based in Hut 6 and Hut 3.Hut 8 and Hut 4 combined to deal withGerman Naval Intelligence.

In the early days the deciphering wasdone ‘by hand’ but Alan Turing, a brilliantmathematician, developed an idea to speedup the code breaking process. The resultwas the Bombe – a machine that greatlyreduced the time required to break thedaily-changing Enigma Keys. By 1944there were at least 200 Bombe units in use,sited throughout North Buckinghamshire,Stanmore and Eastcote.

The German High Command usedanother highly sophisticated ciphermachine known as Lorenz. A similarpattern to the Enigma/Bombedevelopment occurred with Max Newmanand Tommy Flowers producing Colossus –effectively the world’s first programmableelectronic computer – which successfullydecoded the Lorenz messages.

Ten Colossus MkII models were builtand they played a major role in theintelligence operations supporting theNormandy landings.

Turing, Newman and Flowers are nowaccepted as the fathers of the moderncomputer.

During our tour, we were privileged to

meet Tony Sale who demonstrated aColossus machine to us. Tony, togetherwith a group of volunteers, wasresponsible for rebuilding the Colossusover a 14 year period.

This was a very different experiencecompared to our previous visits, full oftechnical excellence and remarkablewartime stories.

Wine Tasting and DinnerThat evening our Black Tie Gala Dinner

was preceded by a tasting of RothschildEstate Wines.

Past Master Martin Everett led theproceedings and introduced us to four wines: One White: Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc

2010 Casablanca and CuricoValleys, Chile.

Three Red: Amancaya Malbec &Cabernet Sauvignon 2009Mendoza, Argentina.Chateau d’Aussieres 2008Corbieres, FranceMoulin de Duhart 2007Pauillac, Bordeaux, France.

A discussion on the merits of cork versusplastic and screw top closures ended with afairly high number in favour of screw topsbut overall, cork still ruled the day – for now.

Needless to say, at the end of theproceedings, Martin was accorded a heartyround of applause.

A codebreaker’s cottage

Miniatures

The Polish Memorial

Alan Turing

A mysterious feather I have one too!

Wine tasting explained Wine tasting understood

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After this light-hearted start to ourevening, we went into The Gala Dinner ina relaxed and happy mood.

The Dinner itself was a great success andcertainly the decibel level of theconversation reflected the bonhomie of ourlast few days together. All in all we’d hadanother splendid Jolly.

...and so to Church.22 May 2011

Our departure morning, but first wevisited St. Mary’s Church, a few minutesaway from our Hotel to take part in theservice of Holy Eucharist. St Mary’s originscan be traced back to 1200 although thefirst known written reference is dated 1322.

We were given a very warm welcome toSt Mary’s by the Reverend Paul McLeod.

He then sang the responses which wouldbe used during the Service and rehearsedus in the singing – an unusual but ratherwelcome introduction to the service.

Bishop John Waine preached a thoughtprovoking sermon and after the service we

parted company on our homewardjourneys relaxed, uplifted and content.John Spencer.

The Gala Dinner Bishop John Waine

Great Balls from FireIam sure that those visiting Bluecoat

school were impressed by the thoughtgiven to their project, the good scienceinvolved and the enthusiasm with which thework was carried out. Using small glassspheres to help treat cancer is a projectworthy of anyone’s effort.

So thought an American companylocated in Rolla, Missouri. MO-SCICorporation has developed a range ofradioactive glass spheres to treat malignantcancers. The spheres are about thediameter of a human hair and are injecteddirectly into the cancerous tumour. Bycontrolling the glass composition, theresidence time of the sphere can be varied;it can be made to dissolve within a certaintime or be very inert. Similarly the level ofradioactivity can be controlled, withradioactive half-lives ranging from 2½hours to several years.

The spheres are made radioactive byneutron activation in a nuclear reactor. Thisbit of kit is probably beyond the school’sscience budget and there might, possibly, besome health and safety issues associatedwith its use.

These radioactive spheres have been usedto treat thousands of patients where theyhave been shown to be particularlyeffective in treating liver cancer.

The scientists at Bluecoat school addedmetal to their glass spheres to make themmagnetic and, hopefully, allow them to beheated to a sufficient temperature to kill thecancer. Here’s another application for glassspheres with small and very accuratelycontrolled quantities of metal in them.Adding enough unusual metals, in varying

quantities, into the glass gives the sphere aunique “fingerprint”.

One application of this idea is inexplosives. The “Taggant” spheres areincorporated into the explosive whenmanufactured. If there is an explosion, theglass will withstand the heat of the blast andthe spheres could, by careful searching, becollected from the site. Analysing the glasswith its unique composition would let theinvestigators know where the explosivewas originally made.

One intriguing possibility for the use ofthis technology would be to use very smallspheres as part of the ink system inbanknote production, which would makecounterfeiting very difficult. Acknowledgement: Mo-Sci CorporationRolla USAJohn Savage.

At the end of June, forpersonal reasons,

Dr Trevor Robinsonstepped down as Clerk.

The Clerk SelectionCommittee was re -convened and pastMaster Martin Everettwas re-elected Chairmanby the six other membersattending.

This group, after considered discussion,were unanimous in wanting to approachClive Dellow who had been one of theoriginal applicants seeking the role. After afurther meeting with the Chairman and theMaster, Clive confirmed his willingness totake up the role and was happy to sign hisemployment contract.

Our Company is very lucky to have suchcommitted members.

The proposal was discussed at the CourtMeeting on the 16 June 2011 and Clive’sappointment was unanimously agreed. Hewill be known as Clerk Nominate prior tobeing sworn in at the September Court.

Clearly Clive has a lot of ground to coverover the next few months and will bewidely assisted across the Company. Hewill also have available the services andhelp of Kerry Hamer-Nell who will assisthim as he requires. Kerry has already beenhelping with our administration andaccounts and was present at the June CourtDinner which she managed.

We are very pleased with Clive’sappointment, he has started favourablyand we wish him well in thisdemanding position. Martin Scarth.

Clive Dellow

Liveryman Clive DellowCLERK NOMINATE

A36 strong party of Glass Sellers met inSheffield on Thursday the 5 May 2011.

At 1.00 pm the group visited Beatson ClarkLimited, at 7.30 pm we attended a black tieDinner and the following morning visitedBritish Glass, departing for home at 1.00 p.m.– three events in twenty-four hours!

The main object of our flying visit was tomeet Members of the British GlassManufacturers Confederation and to developlinks between them and the Membership ofthe Glass Sellers Company. Some linksalready exist, for historical and personalreasons, but The Master wished to strengthenexisting, and to make new contacts to ensurethe development of a closer, proactiverelationship between our two organisations.

Beatson Clark – RotherhamUpon arrival at the factory, we were

briefed and then ‘dressed to kill’ in whitemob caps, coats and safety specs beforegoing into the factory. At each entrance/exitwe washed our hands.

We then toured the factory, whichoperates 24 hours a day, beginning with thebatch plant which uses Scottish sand,Derbyshire limestone, and soda ash andcullet from their recycling plant whichcaters for the whole of Rotherham. (Thescrap metal and clothing is sold on).

The raw materials feed into a regenerativefurnace with 3 burners on each side, and aflame length half as long as the furnace,melting at 1500 C. The glass conditions to aworking temperature of 1150C. The molten

glass is cut into measured ‘gobs’ which shootdown a channel into moulds to form the neckof the container; inverts and compressed airblows the form into the container shape. Acontinuous stream of bottles moves into theannealing oven at 500C for one to one and ahalf hours. A spray coating is put onto somecontainers to prevent them marking easily.

The march of the bottles passes throughvarious quality checks – colour, strain,ovality, wall thickness, base scans, pressuretests, bore tests and flatness of the sealingarea. Much of this is required by theretailers to reduce any potential opportunityfor consumer litigation. The cost of a newmachine which can carry out all of thesequality checks is £500,000. The final stagewas packing and palletisation after which,we returned to the offices to disrobe.

The Company’s keys to success aresuperior performance in quality andservice, innovation, flexibility and speed tomarket. This was certainly a slick operationwith skilled and proud personnel. For thefirst time in 9 years, four apprentices hadbeen employed. They are taking a 3 yearmulti-skilled, electrical/engineering biasedapproach and working in every department,including marketing.Barbara Beadman

The Cutlers’ HallThe Company of Cutlers was incorporated

by Act of Parliament in 1624. Fourteen yearslater, a piece of land was purchased and the

Company built its first Hall. The existingbuilding was built on the same ground in1832. Its interior is magnificent and in thesesurroundings 76 Diners made first contactbetween members of both our organisations.

Appropriate speeches were made andgifts exchanged between the President ofthe Confederation, the Master Cutler andour own Master. Grace was said by StephenPollock-Hill, a Glass Seller and a formerPresident of the Confederation.

The evening very successfully paved theway for our visit to British Glass the next day.

The British GlassManufacturers Association

The BGMA, now more commonlyknown as British Glass, was formed in1988. It has over 50 of the leading glassmanufacturers in membership and throughits independent subsidiary, GlassTechnology Services, offers a problemsolving approach to the Industry at large onan International basis.

After a welcome by David Dalton, theBritish Glass CEO, we were given anexplanation of the organisation’s activitiesand then toured the site in small groups.

The tour was technically very interestingand the staff obviously enthusiastic aboutwhat they were doing.

The morning passed quickly and followinga buffet lunch we left for home after a ratherbreathless 24 hours! The achievement of theMaster’s objective was well on its way.

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Beatson Clarke apprentices and the Master

Cutlers’ Hall magnificent staircase

British Glass headquarters

A flying visit to Sheffield

Eighteen Glass Sellers, including theMaster, met on Tuesday 5 July 2011 for

a visit to St Paul’s Cathedral, organised bythe Livery Committee,

Ably led by Clive Dellow, we visitedareas of the Cathedral not usually open tothe general public.

We started with a brief history of thebuilding under the great dome and then set

off up a unique set of spiral stairs to thegallery above the west door, where were able

to have a “birds eye” view of the cathedral. At this level, we met a group of

dedicated ladies hidden away in a smallworkroom in the eaves, creating andrepairing beautiful embroidered vestmentsfor wear by the Cathedral clergy. It wasdifficult to tear people away from theseamazing ladies and their hugely creativeand amazing work!

We were ushered into the Cathedrallibrary, containing precious documents andancient books dating from the time of theCathedral’s construction. We were then

A Visit to St Paul’sCathedral

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A Visit to the Shard

The Shard is located right alongsideLondon Bridge Railway Station and is

a three quarter billion pound investment bySellar Properties Ltd. The development issignificant in that it will be the tallestbuilding in Europe and already dominatesthe skyline looking from the City.

On 7 July 2011, Michael Donnelly, SellarProperties Project Manager very competentlytook ten of us (the maximum numberallowed) around the structure and, when itwasn’t raining, we were able to see the Cityskyline below us. We were very impressed toview the finished model, the architect’soriginal sketches, and to sip coffee on the23rd floor of a finished office floor space.

It is an all triple glass clad building andreaches 1000 ft from the ground floor. It hasa concrete stair and lift towers to the fullheight of the building designed for modernday circumstances, and due to the taperingshape of the building, the middle floor plateappears to be half the square footage of theground floor footprint. The amazingconcept was designed by architect RenzoPiano and the main contractor is Mace.Considering all the activity that goes onaround this site including Guys Hospital,London Bridge Railway and UndergroundStations and a bus terminal, the pace of thebuilding work is truly astonishing.

The tower which we ascended to the 43rdfloor (only half way up) will house on thetop levels a viewing platform and residentialapartments with a hotel complex within themiddle of its structure and office space tothe ground floor. The complex revitalises

London Bridge Station and has a secondaryoffice building of 400,000 sq ft adjacent.

Two of our significant guests on this visitwere the President of British GlassManufacturers’ Confederation, BrianMcMillan and Dave Dalton the CEO ofBritish Glass. This continues therelationship with British Glass which westarted in Sheffield back in May. Our twovisitors were thrilled that they had beenincluded on this prestigious visit.

We very much appreciate Irvine Sellar’spersonal intervention in allowing this visitto happen on a busy workday, especiallywhen the building is due to be finished inearly 2012. We were very well looked afterand treated as VIPs. Our guest speaker onthe 22nd September will be Mr IrvineSellar. We hope to be able to requestanother site viewing nearer completion!Martin Scarth.Viewing the architect’s model

Dominating the city skyline

The Glass SellersMusic Trophy

The Glass Sellers’ prize for an outstandingstudent at the Guildhall School of Music

originated in 1989,when a young singer bythe name of Bryn Terfel was so clearly goingto win the (then) one and only award in anannual competition. The Glass Sellers’ prizeis awarded to the runner up.

This year’s competition took place at theBarbican on 10 May 2011, with the Masterpresenting the Glass Trophy provided by ourCompany. Four singers – chosen by a Panelat a preliminary round in January – competedand provided a memorable evening, with thecompetition adjudicators (including DameJanet Baker) having a difficult task to decidewho should win the first prize: the GoldMedal, and our Company’s Trophy.

The winner of our Trophy was AshleyRiches, a 24 year old holder of the GuildhallSchool of Music and Drama PostgraduateDiploma in Vocal Training, who is currentlyon the first year of the Opera course.

He performed four of Wolf’s songs, withpiano accompaniment, followed by anintriguing mixture of Mozart, Britten andRossini, with the Guildhall SymphonyOrchestra. He explained “I didn’t want todo the normal thing for a competition; Ihave a real feeling for German Lieder, andwanted to choose songs that were musicallychallenging and a broad range”.

Clearly delighted to win our Trophy,Ashley described participating in thecompetition as “the most fantastic exposure– the competition is so well known, a lot ofgreat people have been in it… and operacompanies and casting agents come to it”.

He added “It’s the most tremendousatmosphere: it gives you an amazing lift,when you go out in front of the audience”.

Ashley has an array of futureperformances scheduled, includingappearing again at the Barbican, and alsosinging at King’s Place.

We wish him every success in what willundoubtedly be a brilliant career.Jane Reynolds.

The Master with Ashley Riches

shown Wren’s wonderful model of how thecathedral was meant to look, when it wasoriginally conceived.

Wren rather misled the planningauthorities of the time by using so muchscaffolding that the actual size and shape(and therefore the likely cost) of the domecould not be discerned from the ground. Asa result, he produced his masterpiece as weknow it today.

Questions flowed thick and fast and wereanswered both with knowledge and

humour. We returned to the ground floor tobe shown the choir stalls prior to Evensong.

Finally a terrific cream tea (in somecases) was taken in the Refectory in thecrypt, where we viewed well known tombsand memorials including a fine one for theDuke of Wellington.

It was a very interesting and enjoyablevisit, which gave us all a different view ofone of the City’s and Britain’s mosticonic buildings.Rowena Patrick.

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Glass SellersProgramme 2011

Monday 3 OctoberElection of the Lord Mayor – Guildhall

Tuesday 25 OctoberAnnual Banquet – Mansion House

Friday 11 NovemberSilent Ceremony – Guildhall

Saturday 12 NovemberLord Mayor’s Show

Sunday 27 NovemberWinter Service

St James GarlickhytheThursday 8 December

Court & Installation DinnerStationers’ Hall

Tuesday 21st February 2012Ravenscroft Lecture – Glaziers’ Hall

Thursday 1st March 2012Court & Livery Dinner – Apothecaries’ Hall

The Glass Seller is published by The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London. www.glass-sellers.co.uk © The Glass Sellers Company 2011.

Acknowledgements: September 2011. The Glass Seller would like to thank those who have contributed articles to this issue. Photographs supplied by:Liverymen Clive Dellow, Richard Katz, John Spencer, The Master and Mrs Sheelagh Savage. Our thanks to the Honorary Clerk whose active support makespossible the production and distribution of this newsletter. Newsletter design and artwork is by Andrew Jones. Printed by Crossprint on the Isle of Wight.

Master’s ReportFOR THE FIRST 6 MONTHS 2011

The Master, Wardens and Clerks havebeen rather busy from the 9 December

2010. We have focussed on severalinitiatives, with the Treasurer’s help, andnow have a consolidated database of allmembers of the Livery. We have 188members and we have addresses which webelieve to be up to date.

In August it is our plan to write to allmembers to seek approval for a dedicatedwebsite portal enabling more efficient,password controlled, communication. TheMembership Committee is managing thisinitiative. They are also formalisingmembership entitlements so that Memberswill be able to answer any queries posed bypotential Freemen and Liverymen.

Our new Clerk, Clive Dellow, is nowcontracted on the PAYE system. We havehad to realise the need for financing thisOffice in order for the Livery Company to goforward. There has been much discussion onquarterage payments and these have nowbeen finalised. Fundamentally, we need tocontinue to increase our membership, thisneeds action from you!

As an approach we have gone out to meetthe British Glass Manufacturers’ Con -federation who has welcomed our overtures.A visit to Sheffield and a tour of BeatsonClark’s factory has furthered our links withthe glass container industry. British Glass’President and CEO have been welcomingand we hope to have more Glass Sellersmanufacturers in our midst in the future.

The Master’s Jolly was a success andthe visit to Blue Coat CE School in

Coventry made us all aware of what theCharity’s Glass in Society Project wasundertaking. The Glass in Society Projectin the West Midlands is proving that theinvestment in children and education isvery beneficial to all.

We were very fortunate to visit the Shardproject in the centre of London. Thisbuilding will be the tallest in Europe whenfinished and a glass icon. From the 43rd floor(half way up) we marvelled at the pace andmanagement of this construction project.

With other Master’s Ladies, Elisabeth hasbeen to lunch with the Lady Mayoress andhas helped develop our links with otherLivery companies.

I have attended St Paul’s five times, themost memorable being the 300th anniversaryof Wren’s completion of this Cathedral. Therewere about 3000 people in the congregationfor this magnificent service in the presence ofThe Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.

I was honoured to present the GlassSellers’ Runner-up Prize at the GuildhallSchool of Music, Barbican Concert toAshley Riches, a most competent baritone.

We were invited to the Queen’s GardenParty in July. We had a wonderful afternoonand we both felt very privileged to representthe Glass Sellers’ Livery Company.

In the next six months, the Master andWardens intend to initiate an apprenticeshipscheme with considerable help from Poulten &Graf in Barking and our own Glass Sellers’Charity. British Glass is helping to identify the‘Best in Year’ apprentice within the containerglass industry for us to give an Award.

I have attended a succession of otherCompanies’ Livery events which have beenmost enjoyable and it is clear that the GlassSellers Livery does hold its head up high.

I do hope to see you at the 8th DecemberDinner and especially at our Winter Serviceon the 27th November. This will be your lastchance to hear The Right Reverend JohnWaine as our Chaplain. He is retiring andwe will miss him dearly.

The Master and Mistress

A REMINDERThis excellent commemorative plate may be purchased for

£50, of which £20 will be donated to the Glass SellersCharity. The price includes packing and delivery. Chequesshould be made payable to E R Mobbs and sent to NewnhamFields, Newnham, Northants NN11 3ET. Please include yourdelivery address. Buy a plate, get a very artistic mementoand benefit our charity. You couldn’t do better!

Past Master Philip Willoughby is toreceive the OBE on 3 November 2011 at

Windsor Castle for services to the City ofLondon and to Charity.

Philip was elected to the City’s CommonCouncil in 1985 and for the last five yearswas Chairman of Finance during a verydifficult recessionary period.

His City appointments have been manyand varied during his twenty six years ofservice and he has received other honourssuch as the Order of Merit of France (1996)and the Order of Merit of Chile (1998).

In the Glass Seller’s Company, Philip hasbeen Clerk (1976-1989) following a periodas Assistant Clerk and Master (1986-7). He iscurrently in Office as Treasurer.

The Court and Livery send himcongratulations and their best wishes onreceiving the honour.

Philip WilloughbyOBE

Philip Willoughby