Alloa Glass Cone

Alloa Glass Cone, constructed around 1824 and standing about 20m high, is the oldest surviving glasshouse cone in Scotland and the only one in Europe in a continuously working glassworks. The arched openings in the octagonal stone base originally led to adjoining workshops and furnaces and archaeological remains of the annealing furnace still lie buried beneath the cone.

Our conservation audit included archival research into the origins and use of the glass cone which established its unique historic value as Scotland's sole surviving glass cone, while our condition assessment identified a number of urgent repairs needed to preserve it from ongoing decay and ensure its survival.

Using historic buildings is more often than not the key to their survival and we proposed a new sustainable use for this monument as a centre for the history of Scottish glassmaking and related industrial heritage, sadly yet to be realised.