Chance Brothers & Co Ltd
Other Business Names:
- Chance, William
- Oldbury Alkali Co Ltd
- Chance & Hunt Ltd
- Chance, Sir James
- Nailsea Glass Works
- Pilkington Brothers Ltd
- Chance, Robert Lucas
- Chance, Robert Lucas
- Chance Glass Ltd
Locations city-town / local authority / county1974 / region-state / country:
- Smethwick, Sandwell, West Midlands, West Midlands, England
Sectors:
-
Chemical production
Basic chemicals production
-
Electrical & electronic engineering
Electrical & non electrical lighting & heating equipment production
-
Non metallic mineral products manufacture
Glass products manufacture
-
Precision instruments production
Optical equipment inc eyewear production
-
Non metallic mineral products manufacture
Sheet inc window glass manufacture
Notes:
Traced origins to the business, initially just window / sheet glass manufacturers, established in 1824 by Robert Lucas Chance, 1782-1865, through acquisition of British Crown Glass Co at Spon Lane, Smethwick. Later joined by his brother, William, 1788-1856, a leading Birmingham iron merchant. By mid 19th century UK's leading glass maker based on technological innovation. 1835 established an alkali works at Oldbury which supplied glassworks and which in 1890 was incorporated separately as Oldbury Alkali Co Ltd, later Chance & Hunt Ltd. From c1850, increasingly under (Sir) James Chance, 1814-1902, made optical glass for specialist use in observatory telescopes, lighthouses, etc; pioneered development of lighting equipment for lighthouses. Supplied plate glass to the new Crystal Palace in 1851. Also made glass products, in 1870 acquiring Nailsea Glass Works. Incorporated 1889 as Chance Brothers & Co Ltd. Between 1945-52 acquired by Pilkington Brothers Ltd but for several years continued to trade separately and in late 1940s diversified into laboratory glass products. The latter business, based at Malvern, was bought by management in 1992 as Chance Glass Ltd [2024]
Publications:
- 100 Years of British Glass Making, 1824-1924 by Unknown
- A family business. The early years by Chance, W H S
- Aluminium Co Ltd. Some early documents by Dickinson, R
- Birmingham and her manufactures. IV, Glass works of Messrs Chance at Spon Lane by Unknown
- Birmingham Glass Works by Unknown
- Bromsgrove Glassworks. A short history by Chance, Hugh
- Chance Expressions. A history of domestic glassware from Chance Brothers, 1929-1981 by Encill, David P
- 'Flat glass industry' in P L Cook (ed), Effects of Mergers. Six studies by Cook, P Lesley
- 'Glass and Alkali Works of Messrs Chance Brothers & Co' in G Measom, Official Illustrated Guide to the North Western Railway and all Its Branches by Measom, George
- 'Glass Works of Messrs Chance Brothers & Co, Spon Lane, near Birmingham' in G L M Strauss et al, England's Workshops by Strauss, G L M, et al
- Glassmakers. Pilkington. The rise of an international company, 1826-1976 by Barker, T C
- History of the Firm of Chance Brothers & Co, Glass and Alkali Manufacturers by Chance, James F
- Innovations in Building Materials. An economic study by Bowley, Marian
- 'Lighthouse illumination and the dioptric apparatus' in S Timmins (ed), Resources, Products and Industrial History of Birmingham and the Midland Hardware District. A series of reports collected by the Local Industries Committee of the British Association at Birmingham in 1865 by Kenward, James
- Lighthouse Work of Sir James Chance by Chance, James F
- Lighthouses. The race to illuminate the world by Chance, Toby, & Peter Williams
- Mirror for Chance by Unknown
- 'Robert Lucas Chance, modern glass manufacturer. Fractures in the glass factory' in I Armstrong, Victorian Glassworlds. Glass, culture and the imagination, 1830-1880 by Armstrong, Isobel
- Spon Lane Works by Sandilands, D N
- 'War and economic development. Government and the optical instruments industry in Britain, 1914-18' in J M Winter (ed), War and Economic Development. Essays in Memory of David Joslin by MacLeod, Roy, & Kay MacLeod
Groups:
Other Business Names:
- Chance, William
- Oldbury Alkali Co Ltd
- Chance & Hunt Ltd
- Chance, Sir James
- Nailsea Glass Works
- Pilkington Brothers Ltd
- Chance, Robert Lucas
- Chance, Robert Lucas
- Chance Glass Ltd
Locations city-town / local authority / county1974 / region-state / country:
- Smethwick, Sandwell, West Midlands, West Midlands, England
Sectors:
- Chemical production Basic chemicals production
- Electrical & electronic engineering Electrical & non electrical lighting & heating equipment production
- Non metallic mineral products manufacture Glass products manufacture
- Precision instruments production Optical equipment inc eyewear production
- Non metallic mineral products manufacture Sheet inc window glass manufacture
Notes:
Traced origins to the business, initially just window / sheet glass manufacturers, established in 1824 by Robert Lucas Chance, 1782-1865, through acquisition of British Crown Glass Co at Spon Lane, Smethwick. Later joined by his brother, William, 1788-1856, a leading Birmingham iron merchant. By mid 19th century UK's leading glass maker based on technological innovation. 1835 established an alkali works at Oldbury which supplied glassworks and which in 1890 was incorporated separately as Oldbury Alkali Co Ltd, later Chance & Hunt Ltd. From c1850, increasingly under (Sir) James Chance, 1814-1902, made optical glass for specialist use in observatory telescopes, lighthouses, etc; pioneered development of lighting equipment for lighthouses. Supplied plate glass to the new Crystal Palace in 1851. Also made glass products, in 1870 acquiring Nailsea Glass Works. Incorporated 1889 as Chance Brothers & Co Ltd. Between 1945-52 acquired by Pilkington Brothers Ltd but for several years continued to trade separately and in late 1940s diversified into laboratory glass products. The latter business, based at Malvern, was bought by management in 1992 as Chance Glass Ltd [2024]Publications:
- 100 Years of British Glass Making, 1824-1924 by Unknown
- A family business. The early years by Chance, W H S
- Aluminium Co Ltd. Some early documents by Dickinson, R
- Birmingham and her manufactures. IV, Glass works of Messrs Chance at Spon Lane by Unknown
- Birmingham Glass Works by Unknown
- Bromsgrove Glassworks. A short history by Chance, Hugh
- Chance Expressions. A history of domestic glassware from Chance Brothers, 1929-1981 by Encill, David P
- 'Flat glass industry' in P L Cook (ed), Effects of Mergers. Six studies by Cook, P Lesley
- 'Glass and Alkali Works of Messrs Chance Brothers & Co' in G Measom, Official Illustrated Guide to the North Western Railway and all Its Branches by Measom, George
- 'Glass Works of Messrs Chance Brothers & Co, Spon Lane, near Birmingham' in G L M Strauss et al, England's Workshops by Strauss, G L M, et al
- Glassmakers. Pilkington. The rise of an international company, 1826-1976 by Barker, T C
- History of the Firm of Chance Brothers & Co, Glass and Alkali Manufacturers by Chance, James F
- Innovations in Building Materials. An economic study by Bowley, Marian
- 'Lighthouse illumination and the dioptric apparatus' in S Timmins (ed), Resources, Products and Industrial History of Birmingham and the Midland Hardware District. A series of reports collected by the Local Industries Committee of the British Association at Birmingham in 1865 by Kenward, James
- Lighthouse Work of Sir James Chance by Chance, James F
- Lighthouses. The race to illuminate the world by Chance, Toby, & Peter Williams
- Mirror for Chance by Unknown
- 'Robert Lucas Chance, modern glass manufacturer. Fractures in the glass factory' in I Armstrong, Victorian Glassworlds. Glass, culture and the imagination, 1830-1880 by Armstrong, Isobel
- Spon Lane Works by Sandilands, D N
- 'War and economic development. Government and the optical instruments industry in Britain, 1914-18' in J M Winter (ed), War and Economic Development. Essays in Memory of David Joslin by MacLeod, Roy, & Kay MacLeod