Seaton Sluice Glass Works

A small coastal village in South-East Northumberland is not an obvious location for the once largest bottle making factory in the UK, The Royal Hartley Bottle Works. Although there are no surface traces left, it was the heart of the Seaton Sluice community for over a hundred years. It occupied a large site which also had workers’ houses, a market place, a granary and a brewery.

Created by Thomas Delaval in 1763, it grew quickly with the help of imported German glassmakers, and in 1777 produced 1.7 million bottles. How did this happen here? There were immediately available large supplies of sand, clay and kelp, plus coal to fire the works. The village also had a newly made harbour and passage to the sea via The Cut, which had been created by blasting out rock to create a new channel. It was now set to become a thriving port for the shipping of the bottles and of coal and salt, both produced nearby. A new rail connection to the harbour, part of it underground, was another innovation and over the time the factory was active this moved from horse- to steam power.

The factory eventually had six tall conical furnaces which could clearly be seen by passing ships. But over time competition grew and the bottle production declined as orders fell. The works closed in 1872 and the whole factory complex was demolished in 1897.