I noticed on the Express & Star website last weekend that the Red House Glass Cone in Wordsley is celebrating its 10th anniversary as a museum. The building itself is over 200 years old and was the home of Stuart Crystal who made glass in the cone. Then on Monday it was reported that the 18th century building has been placed on the at-risk register and, while there are no immediate concerns, it is showing the inevitable signs of it’s age. As one of only four buildings of its type left in the UK it would be a terrible waste for it not to be preserved.
My wife and I visited the cone a few weeks ago on a surprisingly random day out, having never heard of the place until we spotted it in a tourism book. I am no lover of history as I’m more interested in today and tomorrow than yesterday but there is something about some old buildings that sparks the imagination and the cone has a wonderful presence. The canal runs behind it and its shape and location make it feel both imposing and impressive. It’s free to visit and well worth building into a trip around the glass quarter.
The weather was poor the morning we visited but as we arrived the sky cleared and I was able to get some photos in and around this quite unique location.
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- Red House Cone Exterior
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- Red House Cone Exterior
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- Red House Cone Exterior
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- Red House Cone Exterior
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- Red House Cone Exterior
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- Glass eye built into wall
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- Inside the cone
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- Inside the cone
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- Viewing platform
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- Down from the viewing platform
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- Internal Feature
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- A Glass sculpture
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- Net curtain formed from and etched into glass
