| Abstract: | Initiated in the seventeenth century, the growth of Scotland's glass industry was severely restrained by taxation laws and reached a low ebb in the 1820s. Recovery after the repeal of these laws enabled developments in every branch of glass making. Big demands for containers, especially from the drink trades, assisted the setting up of numerous container works particularly in Glasgow. Tied to coal rather than to sand, the industry was concentrated in Central Scotland. Since 1950 the use of oil and natural gas have enabled the establishment of works outside the traditional areas, but Glasgow, Alloa, Irvine, Kinghorn and Edinburgh (Penicuik) continue to be the main locations of the glass industry in 1980. |
