Glass has been made at Sunderland since Anglo-Saxon times, the first mention being from AD 700. The earliest stained glass in the country is at Jarrow monastery. Examples of the famous Wear Bridge rummers can be seen in the Sunderland Museum, along with the spectacular Londonderry glass dessert service of over 150 cut and engraved pieces, dating from the 1820s. Greener and Turnbull's pressed glass is also on view. James Jobling and Co. were very old-established makers of glass in Sunderland; their designs in the art deco style of the great French designer Lalique are particularly sought-after.
The Corning Glassworks makes heat-resistant glass-wares from 'boro-silicate' glass under the brand name 'Pyrex'. This branch of the glass industry came to Sunderland in 1922, when Joblings acquired the British rights to the process and the 'Pyrex' brand name from the American firm of Corning, which had pioneered the process in 1915. Joblings gave up making ordinary glass in the 1960s to specialise in these heat resisting glasses. Messrs Corning took the whole undertaking over in the 1970s and expanded the works. The main product is household oven wares (e.g. glass casseroles) but chemical laboratory glassware (test tubes, retorts, tundishes and tubing) is also made.