Corning's Glassworks, Lisburn Terrace, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Final Excavation Report.

Outline planning permission (ref 10/01549/OUT) has been obtained by St Modwen Ltd for the redevelopment of the site of the former Corning’s Glassworks, situated in the Millfield area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear (centred on NGR 438359 557345). A desk-based assessment of this c 6.75ha former industrial site, carried out by Under Construction Archaeology in 2009, highlighted the potential for the remains of two sites of archaeological interest to survive: the Wear Flint Glassworks (taken over subsequently by Corning); and the Wearside Pottery. Intrusive evaluation work carried out by Pre-Construct Archaeology (PCA) in 2010 confirmed that important buried remains of these two former industrial sites survived in-situ. Further excavation of the glassworks and the pottery was carried out subsequently,
comprising the mechanical excavation of demolition rubble and overburden from the areas of identified archaeological interest. However, manual clearance and detailed
archaeological recording of the exposed remains was not carried out, leaving conditions attached to the outline planning consent unfulfilled.
In March 2011, Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) was commissioned by Prospect Archaeology Ltd, acting on behalf of St Modwen Ltd, to complete the archaeological investigation on the site, which was carried out during April and May 2011. This necessitated the excavation of three targeted areas: Area 1 was focused on the remains of the Wearside Pottery; and Areas 2 and 3 examined elements of the Wear Flint Glassworks.