Birmingham: The Rise and Fall of the World’s Mightiest Glassmakers

The Rise and Fall of the World’s Mightiest Glassmakers

Speaker: Henry Chance

Chance Brothers & Co Ltd was at one time the greatest glassmaker in the world, and one of Smethwick’s foremost employers, providing the glass for the Crystal Palace, the Palace of Westminster and more than half the lighthouse lenses worldwide. It was particularly known for the way its workers were cared for, and for the philanthropy of the firm and the directors.

Henry Chance is descended from both brothers who founded the famous Smethwick firm, and is the grandson of Sir Hugh Chance the last family chairman.