Creative Midlands Heritage

Broadfield house glass museum, Kingswinford

Posted: 05 Jan 2012 07:21 AM PST

Broadfield house

Quote:

The original house was built in the mid or late 18th century and was a two-storey structure facing Barnett Lane. The threshing barn (now the Hot Glass Studio) dates from the same period and serves as a reminder that two hundred years ago this area was open country and farmland.

In the early 1800s the modest farmhouse was transformed into a much grander residence when a fine three-storey Regency block with sash windows and portico was built onto the back of the original building. This now formed the main entrance, reversing the orientation of the original house.

In 1976 the idea emerged of using the building as a new home for the Council's Brierley Hill and Stourbridge Glass Collections. This met with considerable opposition as the people of Brierley Hill and Stourbridge were very protective of their collections and did not want them moved from their respective towns. At the final Council meeting, the decision to go ahead won by only one vote! Conversion work began in 1979 and Broadfield House Glass Museum was officially opened by Princess Michael of Kent on 2nd April 1980.

from (and more)-

http://www.dudley.gov.uk/leisure-and...adfield-house/

museum link-

http://www.dudley.gov.uk/glassmuseum/

Entrance pavillion

Quote:

Brent Richards of Design Antenna, with Dewhurst Macfarlane as structural engineers, won the limited competition to design the new entrance pavillion. This structure features glass beams and columns as well as glass walls and roof. At the time it was believed to be the largest all-glass structure in the world (11m x 5.7m x 3.5m high). The pavillion faces southwest, and the glass is heavily tinted and fritted to limit solar gain. The structure serves as the entrance, ticket hall and shop to the museum

from-

Broadfield House Glass Museum, Design Antenna | Kingswinford | United Kingdom | MIMOA

Signage