Royal Brierley Crystal Works

The Royal Brierley Crystal Works are a glass crystal works built in 1870, with later additions from the late 19th and 20th centuries. The complex was built for Stevens and Williams and is constructed of brick with engineering brick dressings and tile roof coverings. The factory's irregular and accretional plan comprises office, warehouse, and workshop buildings forming an L-shape, along with an associated manager’s house and a weigh house.

The L-shaped range of buildings is two-storeys high with a dentilled cornice of engineering brick beneath the eaves. The roofs are hipped, except for the right-hand front range, which has a pitched roof with brick-built gable ends. The principal elevation features round-headed windows, most of which retain their original cast-iron frames and glazing bars with etched glass panes. A curving entrance porch and an extension dating to 1925 are present, along with replacement rainwater goods. The right-hand side elevation, facing the railway, has round-headed window openings to the first floor with cast-iron frames and glazing bars.

The manager's house was originally in an L-shape, with an early 20th-century extension to the right-hand side elevation, featuring a moulded brick parapet and a flat roof. It is two-storeys high with a basement accessed from the rear. The roof is hipped, with a dentilled eaves cornice. The front elevation has a symmetrical design, with a 20th-century flat-roofed porch projecting centrally, and original sash windows with stone lintels and sills. The weigh house is two-storeys high with a hipped roof and a dentilled cornice beneath the eaves. The front and side elevations have round-headed windows, cast-iron frames, and engineering brick dressings and sills. The right-hand corner of the front elevation has chamfered brickwork to allow vehicles access to the weigh machine, which has since been removed.

On the first floor of the L-shaped range, original gearing and drives remain in the roof space, used for engraving and cutting machinery. The manager’s house’s interior was not fully inspected, but the basement retains original features including a wash tub, a furnace, and a stone ledge around the perimeter of the room.

The business, Stevens and Williams, became renowned during the late 19th century for the quality of their crystal engraving, particularly intaglio work. In 1919, the company received a Royal Warrant from King George V, and the works were visited by the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) in June 1925. The patent for "Royal Brierley Crystal" was secured in 1926 and subsequently became the company's brand name.