A West Midlands glassmaking museum is set to open its 250-year-old underground tunnels to the public for the first time.
Stourbridge Glass Museum has unveiled a major new project that will transform its historic tunnel network into an immersive, family-friendly visitor experience.
Visitors can expect VR and project mapping technology bringing local glassmaking heritage to life.
The tunnels were once used by generations of glassworkers in the local area to store materials and to control temperatures during the production of their fragile products.
The new experience hopes to attract more visitors to the area, giving a boost to the local economy through hotel stays and spending in other local businesses.
The mayor of Dudley, Pete Lowe, praised the new project, using the Black Country phrase “Bostin’” in response to the news.
Museum director Alexander Goodger said: “This is just one part of our new phase of capital development designed to boost the site for locals, expand the offer, give it a wider appeal and bring in tourists to the area who then go on to stay in hotels and eat in restaurants, regenerating the area.
“We want to bring in investment for the Black Country’s heritage. We have an incredible and unique history.
“Before opening the tunnels to the public, the museum will undertake essential improvements to health and safety, signage, public access, and lighting, ensuring a safe and free‑flowing visitor experience.”
An exact date for the opening of the tunnels has not yet been announced.
Stourbridge Glass Museum currently has exhibitions showcasing 400 years of glassmaking in the town, depicting work within a “glass cone”, which is a towering brick structure with a furnace in the middle where workers would shape and blow the molten glass in the hot environment while letting gas escape from the top.
Glass cone buildings are unique to the UK, with only four left standing, one of which can be seen over the road from the museum.
Contemporary artists are also based at the museum, allowing visitors to watch how glass artwork is made in the modern era.
The museum also exhibits many of the items created by craftsmen over the centuries, including luxury glass art with intricate engraving and delicate twisted stems on drinking glasses, candlestick holders and vases.
