Tour the No. 7 Bottle Shop at Cannington Shaw, St Helens.

John Shaw, together with brothers, John and Edwin Cannington, built the revolutionary bottle shop in 1886 to Siemens design, making it one of the first in the world to successfully run 24/7. Over the course of its life several innovations were made, including the introduction of Astley semi-automatic glass bottle making machines. In 1918 it ceased to be an active furnace and the tank was removed, which heralded its new role as a company stores. In World War Two it was pressed into service as an air raid shelter, thanks to its cavernous basement. By the late 1970’s it had fallen into ill repair, and after the 1982 demolitions of the greater Sherdley site, No. 7 became the only remaining part of what was once the largest glass bottle production site in the world.
Whilst the furnace tank is long gone, much remains. The oval architectural cone, a hangover feature of earlier crucible furnace batch production still towers over the structure. Beneath the building the flue tunnels, which reversed air through the generators, are still intact too, making for a fascinating glimpse into the past. Not for nothing does Historic England list No: 7 Bottle Shop as “possibly the most intact example of a late 19th Century Bottle Shop, anywhere in the world.”
Free tea, coffee & cold drinks will be available throughout the day.

IF YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE PART IN THE TOUR, YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK YOUR PLACE IN ADVANCE AND YOU MUST BE AGED 16 OR OVER.

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