AN EXHIBITION walking people through the story of the Dumbarton Glassworks Company opened at Clydebank Museum and Art Gallery on Saturday.

Founded in 1776, the industry played a significant role in the area’s history and locals now have the opportunity to relive its impact.

Visitors will learn the prominent position of the town in the history of Scottish and British glass manufacturing, and they will get to know the controversial family behind it – the Dixons.

Andrew Graham, collections officer with the Heritage Team at West Dunbartonshire Council, was one of the organisers of the event and he admitted he can’t wait to show people a different part of the area’s past.

He said: “This exhibition is quite nice because it’s looking at a different park of West Dunbartonshire’s history that people don’t really know about. The glassworks made a phenomenal amount of money but people don’t really know about it.

“We are here to encourage people to access their area’s history, enjoy it and learn from it. I think it’s important to look at unknown areas of your history. This is something the town should be proud of.

“We are always excited when we have a new exhibition. This is a bit different because it’s not shipbuilding or sewing machines. We are going to get people turning up and saying ‘I didn’t know about this’.

“It’s a very dramatic story. There’s money, there’s scandal. There’s court cases. [That’s down to] the Dixons. One family that came up from Sunderland and bought the factory.”

The Heritage Team have spent the best part of a year pouring over historical documents, such as newspapers and old court papers, and piecing together the story of the Dixons and the Dumbarton Glassworks Company.

The contents of the panels reveal the influence and legacy of the company, as well as the economic, social and political impact of the Dixon family.

From the 1790s they took an active interest in Dumbarton and by 1831 had successfully monopolised all aspects of it.

Jan Patience, an art critic with The Herald, took in the exhibition before it officially opened, and she said it provided a fascinating insight into the legacy of glassworks in the area.

“I actually was completely ignorant about this whole lineage of glassmaking,” she said. “It wasn’t something I had ever come across before. The historical context is really interesting.

“It’s on the verge of disappearing so if you don’t rescue it and interpret it then that legacy could go.”