4 June 1998: Plymouth“s Barbican Glassworks (UK) recently celebrated the first anniversary of its opening in May 1997. More than 400,000 people have visited Dartington Crystal Ltd.“s state-of-the-ar…
4 June 1998: Plymouth“s Barbican Glassworks (UK) recently celebrated the first anniversary of its opening in May 1997. More than 400,000 people have visited Dartington Crystal Ltd.“s state-of-the-art glass-blowing studio and retail shop since it opened in the Old Fishmarket in Plymouth“s historic Barbican 12 months ago. “We are delighted and very pleased that the Barbican Glassworks has attracted so many visitors in so short a time,” said Eric Dancer, managing director of Torrington-based Dartington Crystal. “We saw the redevelopment of the Old Fishmarket as an opportunity to bring the skills of glass-blowing to Plymouth and to bring to England skills that did not exist in this country, namely to produce glass sculptures,” he added. The Barbican Glassworks project was conceived when the Sutton Harbour company decided to redevelop the former fishmarket overlooking The Quay as part of a multi-million pound scheme to regenerate Sutton Harbour. At the same time, Dartington Crystal Ltd., England“s leading crystal manufacturer, was looking for a suitable site in Plymouth to open a glass-blowing studio and retail shop. Sutton Harbour Company commissioned Plymouth architects Form Design Group to design plans to convert the grade two Listed building into a studio glassworks and retail shop for Dartington Crystal, in a UK 1.25 million project grant-aided by English Partnerships. Dartington Crystal invested a further UK 500,000 in the development.