The Glass Museum
Our Glass Museum provides a concise overview of the glass-making process, featuring a diverse collection of fascinating pieces. The museum’s location is exciting, as it is situated directly before the entrance to our Glassworks – Teign Valley Glass. This means that you can take a walk through the history of glass, straight into a modern glassworks where glass is made before your eyes!
We hope you’ll learn something new while taking a stroll through this area. Discovering something new while potentially gaining a new interest is equally as important as passing on the Victorian making skills that Teign Valley Glass still aims to do today, to keep those skills alive for years to come.
Colour & Pigments
Glass is a unique medium, especially when adding colour. Pigments often react to environmental factors, such as temperature and humidity, during the glass-making process, making coloured glass both a science and an art.
Red glass is among the most difficult and expensive colours to produce, requiring costly elements such as gold or selenium. These materials need precise conditions, which makes red glass rare and pricey. Since red is essential for creating pink and purple hues, these colours are also less common. For this reason, red, pink, and purple glass pieces are often seen as speciality or luxury items in glass art.
Glass Eyes
One of the most popular and intriguingly unusual items in our Glass Museum is our captivating collection of glass eyes. These pieces, with their distinctive concave shape, closely resemble marbles and were likely crafted using similar traditional glassmaking techniques.
Skilled glassmakers employed lampworking methods to craft the intricate details of the iris and pupil, carefully replicating the unique appearance of each individual’s eye.
Marble Machine
A standout attraction at the Glass Museum is our impressive giant marble machine, which takes up a significant portion of the floor space. While its purpose may not be immediately obvious to every visitor, this historic machine was the first used at Teign Valley Glass to produce large marbles, those measuring 30 mm or more.
Through a detailed explanation displayed alongside the machine, visitors can learn about the fascinating mechanics behind marble production and appreciate the craftsmanship involved in creating these classic glass pieces.
The History
At the Glass Museum, we take pride in showcasing the fascinating history and development of glassmaking, with early examples dating back to Roman times. Our carefully curated collection showcases a diverse range of glass pieces crafted using a variety of traditional and modern production methods.
Visitors can explore rare and uniquely challenging items that demonstrate the evolution of glassmaking techniques through the centuries. Among the historic artefacts, you’ll also find exciting contemporary creations such as handmade glow-in-the-dark marbles that showcase the innovation and creativity of modern glass artisans.
Recognised Venue
We have been recognised by a Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence Awards in consecutive years from 2014 - 2019, and the new Traveller’s Choice Award in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023!
