George Ravenscroft

English | British, 1632-1681

BiographyRavenstock began his career working as a merchant dealing in glass in London and Venice. In 1673 he set up a glasshouse at the Savoy Palace, on the Strand in London, producing so-called 'crystalline' glass, for which he obtained a seven-year patent in 1674. Also in 1674 he became the official glassmaker to the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London. The early glass he made suffered from a crackled surface known as crizzling, caused by an excess of potash. In 1676 Ravenscroft developed lead glass, which contained a higher quantity of lead oxide, thus reducing the effects of crizzling. The lead glass formula was perfected by 1681; the new glass was heavier but more light-refractive than contemporary Venetian soda glass and was ideal for cutting. English lead glass became a large and prosperous industry: within 20 years over 100 glasshouses were producing lead glass, laying the foundation for England's successful 18th-century glass industry. In 1678 Ravenscroft retired and was succeeded by his brother Francis and Hawley Bishopp, the latter of whom took over the Savoy glasshouse in 1682.
-ULAN

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