Chances Glassworks, Smethwick, Sandwell: Report On Geophysical Survey, March 2022
Author(s): Neil Linford
A Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey was conducted over accessible areas at Chances Glassworks, Smethwick, Sandwell, to locate and determine the likely survival of any remains associated with industrial glass making at the site. Since the foundation of the company in 1824 Chances Glassworks was responsible for considerable technological innovation in several major areas of glass manufacture including plate glass, scientific glass and coloured glass. Production at the site ceased in the 1980s and, with the exception of extant listed buildings, the majority of the site has been levelled to a concrete slab used as a series of transport and storage yards. The GPR survey was conducted in response to a case work request to support the Chances Heritage Trust who wish to develop the site for beneficial reuse to secure its long-term future and remove it from the heritage at risk register. An area of 0.7ha was surveyed and successfully imaged the surviving regenerative furnace No. 7, although other anomalies found across the site were more difficult to fully interpret due to the keyhole nature of the accessible areas and complex history of the former buildings and structures over the glassworks.
- Report Number:
- 2/2023
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 14
- Keywords:
- Geophysical Survey Ground Penetrating Radar
