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Archives and Special Collections: Angels' Share Glass / Tom Young MBE

Collection information

Collection: Angels' Share Glass / Tom Young MBE

Collection Ref.: GB 0559 AS

Administrative History:

Angels' Share is a glassware manufacturer for the whisky industry that was established in 2013 in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire. Founded by Karen Somerville and her father Master Glassblower Tom Young MBE the company produces glass products for distilleries and whisky brands across the world. 

Tom Young MBE was born in Glasgow in the 1930s. He became an apprentice glassblower in Glasgow in the 1950s at the company R & J Wood who made medical and laboratory glassware. He left Glasgow to join the glassblowing department at the University of Loughborough, producing equipment for their chemistry laboratories. In 1967 Tom returned to Scotland and joined the staff of the newly-established University of Stirling, where he set up the glassblowing department. In 1977 Tom was awarded Master Glassblower status by The British Association of Master Scientific Glassblowers. In 1979 Tom left the University of Stirling and set up his own company, Village Glass, in Bridge of Allan, producing decorative glasswork (while also continuing to supply laboratory equipment). He also crafted specialist equipment for the whisky industry, producing products for distilleries across Scotland. Tom was awarded an MBE in 2017 for his services to the glassblowing industry. He died in May 2023, aged 84.

Contents:

Business records of Village Glass and Angels' Share, glassblowing companies located in Bridge of Allan. Personal papers of their founder Tom Young MBE relating to his career as a glassblower. 

Extent: 14 boxes

Catalogue Information

Catalogue produced by AS Archive Services in March 2024. 

An edited version of the catalogue is available on our online archives catalogue

The full item-level catalogue is available from the University Archives on request.

Additional Collection Information

Custodial History:

The collection was placed on deposit with the University of Stirling Archives in April 2024.

Access Conditions:

Access to the Angels Share Archive is only permitted with the express permission of the depositor. All requests for access should be addressed to the University Archives in the first instance by email to archives@stir.ac.uk

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