Glassworks (1977)
A documentary film about a Tyneside factory which specialised in handmade industrial glass, from fine capillary tubes to carboys.
It explores the work at the factory in Lemington and the ‘loft’ where the refractory pots for the kiln were made. The hand-drawing of glass capillary tubes was a craft which had almost disappeared through mechanisation, but the delicate process was still practised here, where, through the application of hand, eye and lung-power, the skilled craftsmen produced narrow-bore tubes with remarkable accuracy. The film culminates in the dramatic pot-change. Amber was encouraged to make the film by the industrial historian Stafford Linsley.
Amber Films, 20 mins, 1977
Watch the trailer
