hotel – Richard Cann

A woman in a long red dress and black shoes standing on Scarborough beach. In the background is the back of the Grand Hotel, cars and seagulls.

A little over three years ago, Richard and I went on a trip around the UK delivering and buying window glass. I wrote about this in a previous guest post for this blog, A librarian on a glass trip. While that trip was a holiday, it was very much a working holiday, with many stops collecting treasure. More often, business trips that I join Richard on are rather more holiday, just with some occasional glass related stops. This late May bank holiday weekend, and school half term, has been one of these holidays, with enough glass related anecdotes that we though another blog post was in order.

Holiday destination

The destination for this holiday was Scarborough in North Yorkshire – a long way away from our home in North West London. After seeing our children off to stay with grandparents (much appreciated!) we were on our way.

No holiday with Richard involves going directly to your destination… we stopped off in Headingly, a suburb of Leeds, to collect this piece…

A damaged leaded stained glass window panel. It has four pontil roundels and the border is a variation of figure rolled glass including lustre.

…that he’d had his eye on for a while. Parts from this are for sale in the roundels, coloured panes and borders categories. The profits will contribute somewhat towards the diesel. It was the only purchase he had arranged before we set off, so could well have been the only contribution. Before he had this arranged he was a bit down, feeling the lack of a glass purchase or delivery – as was I too be honest – I do like the excitement of glass pick-ups.

The Grand Hotel

I am not one for organising holidays, and within reason don’t mind too much where I go – as long as I can have a break from work and cooking and so on, and a chance to read my book. Somewhere with history to explore is a plus. So I am happy for Richard to come up with ideas on where to stay, and make suggestions for me to agree to.

Scarborough was his idea, and I was immediately hooked once he told me about a Britannia hotel he’d found on a discount website, The Grand Hotel. The hotel we stayed at in Liverpool on our trip in 2023, the Adelphi, is a Britannia hotel. These are not luxury hotels anymore, but they are hotels that used to be grand in years gone by, and therefore have interesting history and architecture to explore.

Despite not specifically paying for a sea-view, we were lucky enough to be allocated a terrace room, with a brilliant view of the beach, and soundscape of waves or seagulls (depending on the time of day). Richard got rather obsessed with this regular visitor…

A seagull standing on a window ledge in front of a sash window which is slightly open. In the background is a car, lamppost, beach and sea. On the internal side of the window is a radiator.

But on a more glass related topic, we did spend quite a bit of time pondering how often the seaside windows get cleaned, and considering the challenges of cleaning large numbers of high-up windows in an environment popular with sea birds!

We explored the hotel, which has 12 floors (for the 12 months of the year – one of many interesting figures learnt reading the history page of the Britannia website), on the lookout for interesting glass. We were not disappointed, as we discovered this window, containing figure-rolled glass, viewed from multiple floors overlooking the lobby. How many people would spot the value and history…?

An electric chandelier with lit light bulbs and a window at The Grand Hotel in Scarborough overlooking the lobby. The window has 19 panes and the frame has a circle in the middle.

We got a better view the more staircases we climbed, it was only on looking at the photos, with a proper close-up view, that Richard realised most of the panes were not hammered, but something else entirely. The “star” panes are also a rare find and he doesn’t know what they are called either.

A variety of figure rolled glass panes in a window.

In the hotel dining room, where we spent significant time due to the deal for our two day stay including breakfast and a buffet dinner, I noticed these leaded light dividers all around the room. Richard was initially dismissive when I pointed them out as he is used to seeing cheap modern versions of this kind of thing in pubs. But he took a closer look and decided they were well made. Being around so much nice intricate glass he does sometimes forget to notice functional pieces like this.

Richard would be interested to know if there’s a more accurate architural term for this style of “partition” leaded light?

Glass in Scarborough

The Grand Hotel wasn’t the only reason to visit Scarborough. After a trip to Scarborough Castle (which is a ruin, and therefore has no windows with glass in), we went exploring round the town (aka walked for a long time to try and find Richard’s interpretation of a good pub garden – this trip took place in a heatwave weekend. Concerning, though pleasant for a seaside visit).

A man and a woman with an audio tour device around their necks, standing against a railing. In the background is Scarborough, beach, town and the Britannia Grand Hotel.

During our walk around town, we indulged in a favourite passtime: spotting interesting old window glass (and content for this blog post).

First up was this hidden treasure at the top side of a row of shops next to the hotel…

*This row of shops were adjacent to The Grand Hotel, which was built in the 1860s, so perhaps these shop buildings were built at the same time.*

Not that rare still, but it’s always nice to see an original shopfront featuring leaded lights…

The top of a shop front which has signs saying "Swidish Style Bjorn Clogs established 1978" and "Hand made clogs". It has five leaded window panels in a floral pattern, two of which are curved.

We also spotted one remaining window with leaded lights in a block of flats. Not the best of photos due to the shadows, but worth noting as an indication of how rare it is to see original window glass, and in Crittall frames, in this kind of building these days:

Six windows within a stone building. The window in the bottom right, below a balcony, is a Crittall, all the others are modern replacements.

Finally, on an evening walk along the beachfront after dinner, we found our way to the Scarborough Spa (the town has a history as a spa town, which people would visit for the medicinal waters). The spa building is now an events venue, with shopfronts below. We initially were disappointed to see fake leaded lights (a glass pane with sticky lead attached to one side of the glass)…

…but then saw that some originals are still there …

*There are several ways to spot a real leaded light. One is if* a *single pane is broken. A large sheet of modern glass, with sticky lead attached to the surface in a grid pattern, wouldn’t break in a small area like this.*

The return journey

Richard commented on the journey from Scarborough to our next destination that the drive felt very long. Then realised that this was because all the potential pick-ups he’d had in mind hadn’t materialised, so he didn’t have any thrill to aim for (other than the nice hotel where the bulk of this blog post was written of course).

He’d has his eye on two doors, each of which had three huge panes of hammered glass. He lost out on these though as someone else had got in first. But this all adds to the thrill of the antique glass trade – never knowing whether you’re going to get the glass you’ve seen for sale.

The following day, we did lots more driving, which Richard didn’t seem to complain about too much. Partly because of a good podcast we were listening too, but mainly – I think – due to the fact that each destination involved some glass to pick-up. The night before, in a Peterborough hotel, he’d managed to arrange a pick-up of this from Norwich…

And at the last moment he remembered someone in Southend-on-Sea had offered him some hammered glass. Among the set was this, which is possibly the largest frameless hammered he’s ever had in stock…

A sheet of Hammered Pilkington glass in an irregular shape being held upright next to which is a bottle of Gordon's gin. — *A1915e*

This post was my idea and Richard was very happy to take me up on the offer – he’s always saying that it’s been so long since he published a blog post. And yet while I’ve been writing this he’s been full of ideas, constantly chipping in saying ‘we could say this… and this…’ I have had to be quite firm in keeping the blog post as my own story!

Alice Cann is an academic librarian, who blogs at researcherlibrarian.wordpress.com. She is also Richard’s wife. She has previously written about the glass business in:

A man and a woman (Richard and Alice) standing smiling in a pub, with wooden background including a partially glass door and floral stained glass windows

In this post I’m discussing:

Opportunity for a glass trip
My ‘work’ during the trip
What I’ve learnt from the trip
Merging a glass trip with a holiday

Opportunity for a glass trip

When Richard has been on his many trips around the country over the years, collecting and delivering, and meeting with fellow stained glass enthusiasts, he has occasionally been asked whether his wife ever comes with him on these trips (or at least that’s what he tells me – maybe to keep me involved!). There is good reason why I haven’t taken up this opportunity:

We have two children who, while they’re getting older, do need a parent to cook them meals and keep them company
Though I support Richard in his business, especially with holding windows for photography, and creating Excel formulas, I do have my own job to be getting on with, as an academic librarian (and emerging researcher – which is the theme of my own blog)

A woman (Alice), smiling, standing wearing glasses, blue dress, red tights and a stripy jumper, holding a Kindle. Standing by several stained glass windows, leant against a temporary railing, with blue plastic sheet behind

Guarding treasure in Grantham which will eventually appear in the Victorian category.

But at long last, in early April this year, I have been with my husband on a business trip, one which took us from London to Edinburgh and back again, with many places in between. He’s taken one or other of our children on some of these trips in the past, but only for a night or two – I had a whole five nights away! We are very lucky to have wonderful parents to look after our children while we took this ‘Busman’s holiday’.

My ‘work’ during the trip

I wasn’t only along for the ride – Richard did find me things to do:

I did some deliveries (from van to door!) and took some part in carrying the windows we collected to our van.
I sent all the text messages letting people know that we’d be with them in half an hour – a very important task this, as they’ve usually been given a wider time slot, and occasionally we’ve been delayed due to traffic.
I researched alternative accommodation when our planned hotel fell through (a broken boiler!) Richard spends a huge amount of time planning all the logistics in advance of a trip. My usual research is using the likes of Bloomberg, and academic journal databases, but I can switch to hotels.com on request!
I offered my opinion on whether we (and it does feel like we) should buy certain pieces, sometimes during a ‘board meeting’ over dinner! Though as a business librarian, I must make clear this is a joke – there is no board of directors as the business is a small concern that doesn’t require them…
I guarded purchased stock (with book in hand), from the wind and from interested passers by, while Richard rearranged glass in the van. Working out where to safely put all the treasure acquired – which will gradually be added to the website in the coming weeks and months – was a regular issue throughout the trip.
I got to visit some interesting businesses, and unique and beautiful houses. I regularly get to see what some of Richard’s customers do with the glass they purchase from him, in the images he posts on his Customer reuse ideas page, but have only now had the opportunity to be shown round a customer’s home – one of the aspects of these trips that I always enjoy hearing about. [Note – I distracted myself for a good ten minutes looking again through the reuse ideas page, when I had intended to just get the URL to provide a link!]

A woman (Alice), wearing a blue top and pink skirt, carrying a stained glass window towards the front door of a house

Delivery in Birmingham

What I’ve learnt from the trip

Travelling around the country in a van is very tiring, both for the driver (Richard) and for the person along for the ride (me). We did manage a bit of exploring in the cities and towns we stayed in (and even had a night staying and socialising with family – we brought a stained glass suncatcher as a gift, as well as a bottle of wine!), but on several evenings were too tired for tourism beyond a meal.
Where we did venture out to our surroundings, we spotted glass in all sorts of places – in a fascinating grade 2 listed pub in Liverpool, and in the Adelphi hotel in the same city. Our history and research interests led to us reading up about the background of this hotel. My librarian tendency to read critically and look at multiple sources meant that I got the more positive perspective from the hotel’s website, and some more shocking details from Wikipedia (I won’t go off on more of a tangent by listing my further research on this topic!)
There are many skilled people who work with stained glass. Seeing some locations where the ‘magic’ happens was fascinating.
There’s only so much you can fit in a medium-sized van. And quite a bit of this will need to be stored in near vicinity to me, until it can be photographed and eventually sold. As Richard has been unpacking the van and putting glass in temporary locations before photography and proper storage, I’ve enjoyed surprises seeing them displayed around the house. But I must not get too attached!

The Vines (The Big House, Lime Street, Liverpool – Grade 2 listed

A big grand room with a glass ceiling, arches in the walls, tables and chairs and a patterned carpet. A woman (Alice) sitting on a sofa, looking up at the ceiling

The Grand Lounge of the Adelphi hotel, Liverpool – the ceiling consists of Victorian rolled glass panes!

A man (Richard), looking away from the camera, standing at the back of a van, with doors open, holding a stained glass window. The van contains other windows, and polystyrene

A messy desk, in front of a bay window, stained glass window on the windowsill, secondary glazing and wooden frames behind

A1543e

Stained glass windows piled on top of an old duvet on a wooden floor. Dining table and chairs to the side. Polystyrene behind. Clothes horses outside in the background, through bi-folding doors.

We have stacks of small framed windows (toplights) waiting to be listed in the trade category.

Most people prioritise putting washing in the machine when they get back from a holiday…

The inside of a garage. Stained glass windows leaning against a washing machine, with an old duvet on top of it

This scenic pattern is from a set of doubleglazed units which will soon be listed in the scenic category.

Merging a glass trip with a holiday

While this was a business trip for Richard, it was definitely also a holiday for us both. It may not surprise you to learn that my husband finds it hard to stop working at times, and it is the same for me. Turning off from work is very hard when you’re running your own business from home, and it’s almost as challenging as a subject librarian who’s the library liaison for thousands of people (to say nothing of my current research obsession!). Therefore days off work when at home are never fully days off – work is always on your mind. For me, being on this trip, getting more involved in sourcing salvaged window glass, I was able to properly take a break from my usual preoccupations. Though I admit that I have referred to my job multiple times in this post!

When not eating or socialising, as described above, I got lots of opportunity to read (I collect books at the rate Richard collects windows, though am less keen to let go of them than Richard is willing to part from the glass – necessary when running a business!). For a librarian, I’m not very strong at ‘weeding’ (aka withdrawing books from) my collection, and have many shelves of books waiting to be read.

We listened, while driving, to multiple podcasts. So the time on the road didn’t feel wasted, and was enjoyable. While our listening was more of the comedy and true crime variety, I’ll take this moment to highlight the time Richard was on a podcast, True Tales from Old Houses, talking about his glass business…

We even played a game, despite being away without our children! Proper evidence that my husband did take me on a holiday, not just a business trip!

A low table, with a game on it. Rummikub stands and tiles. A glass if white wine, an open packet of peanuts. A woman's knees and arm in the background.

Alice Cann is an academic librarian, who blogs at researcherlibrarian.wordpress.com. She is also Richard’s wife.

Tag: hotel

A seagull and some glass business