The glass and ceramics courses at the University of Sunderland, taught for decades at the National Glass Centre on the banks of the River Wear, have come to an end. The university announced in March 2024 that the courses would close in the summer of 2026, and the centre itself shut its doors to the public on 31 July 2026.
What has closed
Two things are involved, and they are easy to confuse. The first is the teaching: the undergraduate and postgraduate glass and ceramics programmes that ran from the site and counted among the best known in Britain. The second is the public centre, with its exhibitions, galleries and working glass studios, which opened in 1998 as a landmark of the city’s long glassmaking history.
Sunderland has made glass since the seventh century, when craftsmen were brought from Gaul to glaze the monastery at Monkwearmouth. The site on the river therefore sat on one of the oldest glass-making locations in Britain, which is why its closure has been felt well beyond the city.
What happens next
Demolition of the building has been planned, and the future of the site has been the subject of disagreement between the university, the council and local campaigners, who have questioned the cost estimates for keeping the building. Supporters have argued for a replacement glass facility in the city, and discussion of a successor project has continued.
The university is selling the contents of the glass and ceramics studios because of the closure. The sale is a timed online auction run by Sanderson Weatherall, listed as “Traditional Glass Making & Ceramics Equipment, Fork Lift, Gallery Furniture and Office Equipment”, with bidding scheduled to close on 12 November 2026. The full lot list is on the auction catalogue.
Where to study glass now
Students looking for a degree-level glass course elsewhere in Britain can find the remaining options in Studying Glass in the UK: Degrees and College Courses. For the history of the craft in Britain, see Learn.