'Hotties', St Helens, Merseyside, research seminar

In an important new initiative to bring together specialists researching the glass industry, EH sponsored a 2-day archaeological seminar on the site of the former Jubilee Sheet Glass Works in St Helens (known locally as the 'Hotties'). The seminar, held in July 1995, was organised by Lancaster University Archaeological Unit in conjunction with the 'Hotties' Science and Arts Centre. The glass works site, which has been under investigation by Lancaster University Archaeological Unit since 1991, will form part of a unique visitor centre to be called The World of Glass. This initiative forms the centrepiece of a major economic regeneration programme in St Helens known as Ravenhead Renaissance, promoted through partnership between the public and private sectors. The core of the 'Hotties' development is a Grade II* listed tank house built by Pilkington in 1887. It is now the earliest remaining example of a gas-fired continuous tank furnace in Europe, and probably the oldest surviving example of a furnace using the Siemens regenerative technology for cylinder glass manufacture. The structure is therefore of key importance in understanding glass-making technology in the later-19th century.

The seminar provided an opportunity to visit the tank house and to discuss the archaeological, scientific, and technological studies being carried out. A further aim was to illustrate the wider problems relating to the study of glass manufacture in the post-medieval period, and the opportunities and future priorities for work in this field. Attendance was by invitation and the number of delegates was limited to facilitate the site visit and discussion. The audience included representatives from EH, St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council, Pilkington, Ravenhead Renaissance, and other interested parties. The seminar was chaired by Sir Neil Cossons.

As well as presenting the results of the EH-funded project and considering the complexities of analysing the remains in preparation for structural repairs and eventual display, the full significance and archaeological potential of the 'Hotties' site was discussed in the context of the state of current research on the archaeological record of glass furnaces in England. Comparative evidence for glass manufacturing in the North East and West Midlands was considered, and the deficiencies of the archaeological record for the 19th-century period were highlighted. The seminar also addressed broader themes including the need to study the British glass industry in the European context. Scientific and technological studies (carried out by staff at the Pilkington Technology Centre) relating to the Siemens process and furnace design were summarised, and based on the work to date, it was argued that the 'Hotties' site represents a landmark in the development of modern window glass manufacture, and the international reputation of Pilkington and St Helens, and is a unique survival from an age of rapid technological development within the glass industry. The seminar concluded that there was an urgent need to address the problem of the shortage of physical evidence for 19th-century furnaces in the context of a future research framework for the study of England's glass manufacturing industry.

There is a body of opinion that discounts the study of physical remains of relatively recent periods, suggesting that there is little to add to contemporary published material. The results of the 'Hotties' project refute this view. The significance of the discoveries cannot be over-emphasised. Moreover, St Helens is a single industry town, still almost totally reliant on the glass industry and this project is especially relevant in the local context. The 'Hotties' seminar encouraged the rapid dissemination of the results of recently-funded fieldwork and opened up wider issues of related research for debate. The seminar stimulated considerable discussion and further thought on these broad ranging issues.