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60 North Street, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1NB
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tel: 01243 788633
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Dartington Glass, as it was originally called, was established in 1967 in
Torrington, Devon, as a manufacturer of quality glassware. Since then it has
developed and evolved many ranges of crystal and glassware based on its key
skills of design and glass making.
The story began in the 1920's at the beautiful Dartington Hall when a wealthy
American heiress and her Yorkshireman husband; Dorothy and Leonard Elmhurst
founded the Dartington Hall Trust. Based at Dartington near Totnes, South Devon, their original vision was to
assist the economic regeneration of rural areas through a combination of
enterprises spanning business, education, the arts and country crafts.
During the early 1960's, it became evident to the Trust, that to the north of
the county there was an ever-increasing demand for new industry due to
population migration to the cities. This depopulation and the lack of
employment for young people were the basis from which the idea of a
glass-making factory evolved.
In order to provide the expertise required for this enterprising idea, the Trust
recruited the first Managing Director, Eskil Vilhemson, from a Swedish Glass
manufacturer, who in turn recruited a team of Scandinavian glass blowers and
brought them to Devon. The factory was officially opened in June 1967 when it
employed just 35 people.
Over the following years, glass blowing skills were taught to English craftsmen,
working originally to Scandinavian designs and later to the work of British
designers. Many of the original glass blowers remained in Torrington and have
been a key strength over the years in developing Dartington Crystal into the
leading name in English crystal.