Among the many glass museums listed on this website is the Broadfield House Glass Museum located in Kingswinford, England, operated by the Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Broadfield House contains glass objects dating back to the 17th century, among them paperweights. The tucked away museum is a former royal estate situated in a part of England known as the Black Country. The Black Country draws its name from the minerals in the ground: coal, iron ore, limestone, fireclay and sand; all perfect ingredients for the French glassmakers who long ago established their businesses in England. Travelers to this western portion of England soon learn about glass manufacturing hearing the names of Amblecote, Stourbridge, and Brierley Hill. The Red House Glass Cone in Stourbridge constucted at the end of the18th century is the last of the traditional glass works and now operates as a museum. Today, it is the only complete glass cone in the area once filled with them and one of only four left in the United Kingdom. Some of the finer glass pieces produced in this area can be seen at the Broadfield House Glass Museum in addition to paintings that show this colorful landscape from the past and glass making tools. This museum is scheduled to close later this year and will reopen at a date yet to be announced with new exhibits.
