Bagley

Bagley's was once one of the most successful glass manufacturers in the United Kingdom. It began life in 1871 as a glass bottle producer when William Bagley and his cousin John William Bagley, in partnership with John Wild,  formed 'Bagley, Wild & Company', in premises adjacent to Weeland Road in Knottingley. Due to financial difficulties it was later reformed in 1898 as a private company under the name of 'Bagley and Company'.

In 1912 the firm branched out into the production of crystal and pressed glass for domestic use as well as continuing their production of a range of glass bottles. Lead crystal was produced for only a short period of time but between the years 1920 and the late 1930s and again after the war, they were major manufacturers of pressed glass up until approximately 1975.

The firm were honoured to receive a Royal Visit on 21st October 1937 when King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and the Princess Royal were given a tour of the company's works. To commemorate this Royal occasion, a special plate of pressed glass was produced and presented to the employees of the firm. A souvenir booklet was also issued to commemorate the event.

Within the space of 30 years from 1906 to the time of the Royal Visit, the workforce at Bagley's increased from less than 200 to over 800, an indication of the successful times the company was experiencing.

In the 1930s under the management of Stanley and Percy Bagley, the firm introduced a range of decorative glass bearing the trademark name of 'crystaltynt'. This range was to ensure the firms success as it became much sought after. Vases, bowls and many types of ornamental items were produced in typical period colours including  pastel blue, pastel green, amber and rose pink and in both frosted and transparent designs. They also produced jade glass and an opaque black range that was introduced as 'jettique'. After the war in the latter part of the 1940s they added 'crystopal' to their catalogue which was an opaque coloured glass.

Bagley's Glass was taken over by Jackson's Glass Company of Knottingley and this in turn was to later become part of the large Rockware Glass Company.