Issues Surrounding the Conservation of Vitrolite Glass

Abstract

As is the case with many innovative materials used in the early part of the twentieth century, Vitrolite rolled opal glass is no longer manufactured. Based on research undertaken for an MSc in Historic Conservation at Oxford Brookes University, this paper examines the history and importance of the glass and the practical issues surrounding its conservation today. Four case studies are used to demonstrate the specific problems, and solutions, found in a range of building projects in Britain. These projects also illustrate some of the issues at the heart of an ongoing debate surrounding the conservation of twentieth-century heritage places.