welcome to the 21st
cambridge glass fair

visitor information

A door key was handed in at the last fair. If you think it might belong to you please contact the organisers.

Because of the devastating fire and subsequent destruction of the Chilford Hall barns in June 2012 the 22nd Cambridge Glass Fair will be held on Sunday 22nd September 2013 at Linton Village College, Cambridge Road, Linton CB21 4JB. The fair will be open from 10.30am until 4.00pm. Tickets can also be bought in advance through Ebay. Please click here.

To view a video made at a recent fair and posted on YouTube please click here.

Linton Village College is situated on the A1307 on the outskirts of Linton, just a mile or so from Chilford Hall and a few miles south east of the City of Cambridge with its colleges and lively arts scene. Click here for directions by road or public transport

Postcard for 22nd Cambridge Glass Fair

Originally founded along with the respected collector and glass expert Dr. Graham Cooley, this fair offers the ideal opportunity to find both antique glass and contemporary studio work; glass from all eras and to suit all tastes. If your preference is for Georgian drinking glasses you will find many knowledgeable specialists, if you are interested in the Art Deco and Art Nouveau periods you will be amply catered for by several quality exhibitors and if you lean toward modernist collectables and art glass you will be spoilt for choice.

At the Cambridge Glass Fair we continually endeavour to improve the visitors’ experience. We were the first one-day fair to introduce regular exhibitions presenting both loan collections and previously overlooked areas of glass to our visitors.

Our promotional postcards were another real innovation and have become collectors’ items in their own right.

We have offered visitors the opportunity to meet some well-known personalities including Eric Knowles, Sam Herman, Andy McConnell and Mark Hill and we have hosted several book launches and selling exhibitions. The Stained Glass Museum from Ely cathedral are also regular exhibitors.

Black sphinx by Molineaux Webb, 1875.

The venue has free parking and refreshments can be found in both the Atrium Cafe where visitors will be able to purchase sandwiches, cakes and hot and cold drinks and also from the new cafe area outside the Old Hall where hot food will be available as well.

We have updated our exhibition archive pages and all of the previous foyer exhibitions have now been reinstated. We hope that you will enjoy looking at them and at the 'exhibitor interview' pages where some of our regular exhibitors give an insight into their interest in the world of glass dealing and collecting.

The exhibition for the February fair was loaned by Maurice and Pauline Wimpory and proved very interesting as it concentrated on two of the less well-known British factories, Harbridge Crystal and Watford Glass. Below can be seen a very nice example of a Watford vase which was featured in the exhibition and which started the Wimporys' collection of pieces from these factories.

Visitors were able to see and buy studio glass from around twenty contemporary makers and engravers who are also always happy to discuss commissions.

Watford 'Deep Water' vase, 1958

A regular exhibitor at the fair since its inception is pressed glass dealer Philip Housden. Above is an example of the type of high quality British pressed glass he offers for sale.

Regular visitors may recall that Philip curated the February 2009 foyer exhibition which was a marvellous display showing the range of colours of Victorian pressed glass. Here is a link to the relevant exhibition archive page.

Allister Malcolm is the latest contributor to our exhibitor interviews and this can be viewed here.

Representatives from Whitefriars.com, the website dedicated to Whitefriars glass and its many enthusiastic collectors, always have a stand at the fair and last time they staged a special display entitled 'Whitefriars Full Lead Crystal 1978 - 80'.

The glass in the exhibition was drawn from the collections of some of the forum members and they were also at the fair and delighted to meet other collectors and to answer questions.

The exhibition, always quite special, was located in the foyer outside the Old Hall. It featured all the different designs produced between 1978 and 1980 in the three FLC colors of Gold, Sky Blue and Aqua plus Flint and some Ruby, although Ruby is not, of course, full lead crystal.

Details of all of the previous Whitefriars.com exhibitions can be found by clicking on 'Whitefriars.com' on the menu bar.

Whitefriars 'pot belly' vases in Aqua, Sky Blue, Gold and Ruby.

You can often follow collectables expert and author Mark Hill on Twitter as he goes around our fairs, finds pieces of interest and chats to the exhibitors.

Andy McConnell, the Antiques Roadshow glass expert, also attends the fair. Both he and Mark are always delighted to meet visitors and to talk about anything to do with glass.

The Glass Association are represented at the fair and pleased to talk about their work and to welcome new members where appropriate.

The Contemporary Glass Society also attends the fair and are very pleased to meet enthusiasts and new members.

Stained glass artist Ann Benwell demonstrates the art of making Tiffany-style glass and visitors are able to try their hand at this fascinating subject.

The Guild of Glass Engravers are also represented and enjoy meeting friends both old and new.

For paperweight enthusiasts, in addition to the several specialist dealers who attend the event, the Paperweight Collectors Circle usually hold an ‘Identification Clinic’ where you are invited to bring along any weights or related items you have questions about or just wish to discuss. This is an excellent opportunity to find out about weights you have tucked away at home that you may have bought, inherited or perhaps received as gifts. Below is pictured an interesting Baccarat weight with a lampwork scarab beetle (image courtesy of the PCC).

Baccarat Green Scarab Beetle, 1985

Primavera, the Cambridge Contemporary Arts Gallery, exhibit at the fair and in February they focused on the work of Amanda Brisbane whose sand cast work is internationally renowned.

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the February 2012 Visitor Survey £50 prize draw was Ms Anne Theobold. The new 2013 Visitor Survey was available from the Foyer and will be drawn in May for September.

We will continue to innovate and to develop the fair, and to that end we have lots of good things in store. Come along and join us at the next event in February or maybe make a weekend of it.

For those of you travelling by public transport we have listed some local taxi firms and are happy to put visitors in touch with each other if they wish to share the fare. If you would like further information please click here.

If glass is your passion, we at the Cambridge Glass Fair will ensure that you can indulge it to the full and have a wonderful time.

If you are unable to visit the Cambridge Glass Fair you may like to know that we also organise the National Glass Fair, the next one of which will take place on Sunday May 12th 2013.

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