Sunderland Pyrex Plant Closes
We actually received word from user Mackem 54 on Flickr that today, September 28, 2007 was the last day that glass was made at the Pyrex plant in Sunderland - consequently ending the production of Pyrex in England. Pyrex had been produced for 85 years at the Sunderland site (and glassware in general had been produced at the site for over 150 years)
Arc International, who actually owned the plant (they bought it from Newell Ltd., who in turn had bought it earlier from Corning), decided to move production to France.
We’ll try and post more up about this historic event for Pyrex later on. Until then, here is the BBC news item and another one from the Sunderland Echo. Hm… I wonder if any special promotional pieces were issued on this last day at the plant? =)
September 30th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
The picture in your post, what brand is it? does that stamp mean pyrex as well? i saw a gravy boat with that stamp today while i was out at a local thrift store and i’ve never seen it before. I am still pretty new to collecting, any help would be great
September 30th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
JAJ = James A Jobling, who acquired the rights from Corning to produce Pyrex in Sunderland. His initials stamp, along with the Crown symbol means it is Pyrex that was made in England. It’s sometimes also called “Crown” pyrex. It is rather rare to find these pieces in the U.S., though I’m told they are plentiful in Britain.
October 4th, 2007 at 5:00 am
thank you!!! You are so helpful! I never knew that. Now i have to hope that its still at the store after work today, because i need to have it. I live in Canada and i have never seen that stamp before. It was weird i was drawn to it, because i thought it was pyrex!! but the stamp made me think otherwise. thanks again!
February 11th, 2008 at 8:01 am
help! i’ve inherited some pyrex bowls and plates that belonged to my nan. i’m trying to find some more pieces to to add to this but i can’t find any reference to this particular pattern. they have the jobling crown stamp on the bottom. they are white with two stemmed red roses on. one rose is slightly larger than the other and has a red stem with green leaves and the other has a grey stem with grey leaves. can you give me anymore information? i’ve only just begun to find out about joblings pyrex and i’m finding it quite interesting.
February 11th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
angie - we haven’t yet gotten the UK and Canada patterns sorted out yet on the site. Your best bet - if you use Flickr, goto the Pyrex Love group and add a picture to the group. No need to start a discussion thread - everyone will seethe photo if you add it. (If you aren’t a Flickr member, it is very easy and free to join).
The reason I say try the group is there are users on there who know UK patterns - they will probably be able to identify it.
July 5th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
I was searching through an old house on our property and found a small white plate with the same crown on the back. I was wondering if you knew what the numbers and dots mean. I am just getting into the whole vintage thing and am finding this quite interesting.
July 10th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Htl - there are some people who might be able to help on the Pyrex Love Flickr group mentioned in the previous comment. I don’t know the dot codes myself…