National Glass Centre

Congratulations to Hannah & Nick!

Have you picked up the January issue of Lifestyle Magazine yet? National Glass Centre is front and centre of the wedding features ❤️

National Glass Centre Shop
A great opportunity to purchase a unique piece of Studio Glass at a bargain price!

We celebrated two beautiful weddings this past weekend ❤️ many congratulations to our 2018 Brides! And to our 2019 Brides...we can't wait to make your dreams come true! If you're still looking for the perfect venue, contact us on 0191 515 5555 (option 5) 🥂

Sittings available from 12.00 – 14.30 Celebrate Easter with your family in the relaxed surroundings of The Glass Yard. All children will receive a delicious chocolate treat.
One course – £10.95 Two courses – £15.95... Three courses – £19.95
Please visit our website for the menus available on the afternoon. Booking is essential.
To book, please call 0191 515 5555 (Option 1).
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Sittings available from 12.00 – 14.30 Celebrate your Mum and treat her to a delicious lunch in The Glass Yard. Mums will receive a gift to take away as a reminder of their special day.
One course – £10.95 Two courses – £15.95... Three courses – £19.95
Please visit our website for the menus available on the afternoon. Booking is essential. To book, please call 0191 515 5555 (Option 1).
See More

Sittings available from 14.30 – 16.30 Traditional Afternoon Tea – £14.00 per person
Add a glass of Prosecco for just £4.00 per person. Indulge in a selection of thin cut, crustless sandwiches, a freshly made fruit scone with jam and clotted cream and a selection of cakes.
... Booking is essential. To book, please call 0191 515 5555 (Option 1).
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A two day course in basic ceramic techniques
A course aimed at beginners using clay for the first time, the class will consist of demonstrations and guided support to create your own set of mugs over the two days.
Day one will aim to create the initial forms while the second day will be used to finish the bases, add handles and allow some basic decoration.
... 10:00 - 16:00 / £100 / Age 16+
Artist: Michael Emmott
Booking is essential
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Two days of creating works of art using flameworking
Saturday & Sunday 10.00 - 16.00 / Age 16+ / £130 / Booking Essential / Artist: Zoe Garner
Through a combination of demonstrations and free practice time, starting with the basics we will build a vocabulary of flame working skills that will form a solid grounding to move forward using flame working as an art form.
... Using clear borosilicate glass rods we will experiment and practice techniques making a number of flameworked shapes. Moving forward with our learnt skills on day two let your imaginations run wild and make your very own sculptural designs with inspiration from nature using components joined together to make larger scale works..
Lunch Break 12.30-1.30 bring your own lunch or its advised to pre order your lunch in the restaurant.
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Create a truly unique gift for your Mum for Mother's Day! Create a mould in sand, and then decorate using your Mum’s favourite colours.
Molten glass will then be poured into your mould to create a 3D object that will last a lifetime!
9:30 - 10:30 & 10:30 - 11:30
... £16 each
Max of 10 people per session
Minimum age 6 (all children aged 18 or under must be accompanied by an adult)
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Create a glass fish or hedgehog using sand to make a mould. Add your own colour and decoration to make your design unique.
Watch as your design is transformed by our studio team who will pour molten glass into your mould to produce your own individual piece of art.

What a super place, glass blowing experience was very interesting and informative, we purchased the piece we had watched going from a hot blob of glass to an extremely attractive vase- entailed returning the following day but worth it. The young lady in the exhibition was very knowledgeable about the display of artworks. And to round off the visit we ate lunch in the restaurant, excellent food, friendly staff and superb view of the river. Will definitely return

We visited late on a Sunday afternoon. Lots of classes were going on so we had lots to watch. The shop was lovely. Sat and had a cup of coffee and watched a ship loading on the riverside. It was a mild evening so we took a stroll on the glass roof for a view.

Visited yesterday for a "Blow your own Christmas bauble" experience. I absolutely loved it. There is lots to do and see and a restaurant with very good food & drink. It is Free parking and entry. A great day out for all the family.

Visited today to make a trick or treat plate. �value for money

�friendly helpful staff.

We will certainly be back

Visited on Sunday with my family. Had a lovely time and we all loved the glass blowing demonstration. Popped into the restaurant for a coffee, so I could get my daughter a snack and feed my baby. The staff where lovely. Whilst I was feeding my baby, a lovely girl brought over a pint of water for me, saying it's hard work and she knows how thirsty you get. It was a lovely gesture that I've never experienced before. I'm confident when feeding in public but this made me feel very at ease. It was such a lovely touch. Thank you.

The National Glass Centre is another hidden gem in Sunderland, a city much maligned by locals and outsiders alike.

The NGC is a world renowned centre of excellence for hot glass works and ceramics. Regular displays of the glass blowing and shaping skills both entertain and educate. Amazing examples of the glassworkers craft are for sale and the shop stocks examples from outside the region.

Well worth a visit and don't miss St. Peter's Anglo Saxon church nearby which was the reason for bringing these glassworking skills to Sunderland, over 1,350 years ago.

Superb ! Well worth a repeat visit I enjoyed it that much. There is lots to do and see for all ages. Staff are welcoming and you can see to them it is more than a job or task. They actually love what they do and to see the people who go. The Children's activities brilliant and the staff are very outstanding ! A very welcoming place and inwould certainly go again. 😊

Our 2nd visit to the centre. Our first was some time ago and thoroughly enjoyed looking round and watching the demonstration. Bought a lovely coloured glass vase/ornament at a very low price. Our 2nd visit was yesterday to make Christmas baubles. What a great experience made special by the experts (sorry can't remember their names). Can't wait to get the baubles when they have cooled down.

Lovely place to call to. Breakfast was really nice. Service always spot on. Toilets clean, dry and comfortable. Picked up a lovely hand-crafted paper weight for £5! View second to none. Cream scone and jam gorgeous too!

Great insight as to how the glass was made and worked, watching the staff and students is amazing great place to visit well worth it and it's free but please at least leave a donation as they don't pressure you at all restaurant is very nice too 👍🏼

Fantastic day out, we went to make glass cars for father's day. Both adults and kids enjoyed it, staff couldn't have been anymore helpful, there was a problem with the finished product but they accommodated us coming back to redo it at a time convenient to us, and made a fuss of the boys. Thoroughly enjoyed by all and would definitely go back.

An amazing place with live demonstrations of hot glass blowing, including a great commentary so you understand what’s going on. The glass for sale is fantastic and great value for money. Lovely cafe with fab cake. I didn’t want to leave

Amazing Lovely warm friendly place. so enjoy it to day .. been waiting to go here for few Months well worth it glass blowing just blew me away fab place to go and vist x 😊

Watched a glass blowing demo, great how they do the glass, it makes you realise what craftsmen they are. Nice walk by the river too and then a view from the top of the roof over and out to the sea.

Took the kids to see the Glass blowing pumpkin demonstrations yesterday. We all really enjoyed it and kids were amazed at how they were made. Enjoyed a drink in the cafe afterwards and kids loved choosing some beautiful marbles to take home. Great that its free too! They have already asked to go back another day!

Lovely restaraunt but service was incredibly slow and not attentive. Food was good but seating uncomfortable.

The remainder of the building was interesting especially the real life glass making.

The historical side of glass making a bit disappointing...the lighting made it difficult to read information in the displays. Would have liked more history and less space for the art displays which were good but didn't work for me.

Overall a great place to visit.

Great place to visit. The cafe was nice but the system needs tweaking a bit as the food arrived quickly but drinks took slightly too long we saw them made and on the counter. However the lady who brought them to us was very apologetic about the wait. Lovely to see the exhibitions and glass blowing demo. Great to have free admission and well worth a visit

Easy to park. We got to the craft fair early and decided to have a drink and sausage bun. Only downside was that it took 40 minutes from start to finish for a basic service. Also thought it a bit mean-1 sausage in the bun for the price. That said the venue and craft fair was lovely- would highly recommend it

Serious case of style over substance. The cafe needs to hire some decent wait staff. They only brought out half our lunch order and we had to chase up the rest and wait over 20 mins for it. The waitresses we about as unmotivated and uninterested in their jobs as they could get. God help anyone who actually books a wedding here if this is the service. Plus the food was over priced and underwhelming. The so called 'gastro chips' were just frozen chunky chips - seriously. Don't waste your time or money at this cafe.

What a super place, glass blowing experience was very interesting and informative, we purchased the piece we had watched going from a hot blob of glass to an extremely attractive vase- entailed returning the following day but worth it. The young lady in the exhibition was very knowledgeable about the display of artworks. And to round off the visit we ate lunch in the restaurant, excellent food, friendly staff and superb view of the river. Will definitely return

We visited late on a Sunday afternoon. Lots of classes were going on so we had lots to watch. The shop was lovely. Sat and had a cup of coffee and watched a ship loading on the riverside. It was a mild evening so we took a stroll on the glass roof for a view.

Visited yesterday for a "Blow your own Christmas bauble" experience. I absolutely loved it. There is lots to do and see and a restaurant with very good food & drink. It is Free parking and entry. A great day out for all the family.

Visited today to make a trick or treat plate. �value for money

�friendly helpful staff.

We will certainly be back

Visited on Sunday with my family. Had a lovely time and we all loved the glass blowing demonstration. Popped into the restaurant for a coffee, so I could get my daughter a snack and feed my baby. The staff where lovely. Whilst I was feeding my baby, a lovely girl brought over a pint of water for me, saying it's hard work and she knows how thirsty you get. It was a lovely gesture that I've never experienced before. I'm confident when feeding in public but this made me feel very at ease. It was such a lovely touch. Thank you.

The National Glass Centre is another hidden gem in Sunderland, a city much maligned by locals and outsiders alike.

The NGC is a world renowned centre of excellence for hot glass works and ceramics. Regular displays of the glass blowing and shaping skills both entertain and educate. Amazing examples of the glassworkers craft are for sale and the shop stocks examples from outside the region.

Well worth a visit and don't miss St. Peter's Anglo Saxon church nearby which was the reason for bringing these glassworking skills to Sunderland, over 1,350 years ago.

Superb ! Well worth a repeat visit I enjoyed it that much. There is lots to do and see for all ages. Staff are welcoming and you can see to them it is more than a job or task. They actually love what they do and to see the people who go. The Children's activities brilliant and the staff are very outstanding ! A very welcoming place and inwould certainly go again. 😊

Our 2nd visit to the centre. Our first was some time ago and thoroughly enjoyed looking round and watching the demonstration. Bought a lovely coloured glass vase/ornament at a very low price. Our 2nd visit was yesterday to make Christmas baubles. What a great experience made special by the experts (sorry can't remember their names). Can't wait to get the baubles when they have cooled down.

Lovely place to call to. Breakfast was really nice. Service always spot on. Toilets clean, dry and comfortable. Picked up a lovely hand-crafted paper weight for £5! View second to none. Cream scone and jam gorgeous too!

Great insight as to how the glass was made and worked, watching the staff and students is amazing great place to visit well worth it and it's free but please at least leave a donation as they don't pressure you at all restaurant is very nice too 👍🏼

Fantastic day out, we went to make glass cars for father's day. Both adults and kids enjoyed it, staff couldn't have been anymore helpful, there was a problem with the finished product but they accommodated us coming back to redo it at a time convenient to us, and made a fuss of the boys. Thoroughly enjoyed by all and would definitely go back.

An amazing place with live demonstrations of hot glass blowing, including a great commentary so you understand what’s going on. The glass for sale is fantastic and great value for money. Lovely cafe with fab cake. I didn’t want to leave

Amazing Lovely warm friendly place. so enjoy it to day .. been waiting to go here for few Months well worth it glass blowing just blew me away fab place to go and vist x 😊

Watched a glass blowing demo, great how they do the glass, it makes you realise what craftsmen they are. Nice walk by the river too and then a view from the top of the roof over and out to the sea.

Took the kids to see the Glass blowing pumpkin demonstrations yesterday. We all really enjoyed it and kids were amazed at how they were made. Enjoyed a drink in the cafe afterwards and kids loved choosing some beautiful marbles to take home. Great that its free too! They have already asked to go back another day!

Lovely restaraunt but service was incredibly slow and not attentive. Food was good but seating uncomfortable.

The remainder of the building was interesting especially the real life glass making.

The historical side of glass making a bit disappointing...the lighting made it difficult to read information in the displays. Would have liked more history and less space for the art displays which were good but didn't work for me.

Overall a great place to visit.

Great place to visit. The cafe was nice but the system needs tweaking a bit as the food arrived quickly but drinks took slightly too long we saw them made and on the counter. However the lady who brought them to us was very apologetic about the wait. Lovely to see the exhibitions and glass blowing demo. Great to have free admission and well worth a visit

Easy to park. We got to the craft fair early and decided to have a drink and sausage bun. Only downside was that it took 40 minutes from start to finish for a basic service. Also thought it a bit mean-1 sausage in the bun for the price. That said the venue and craft fair was lovely- would highly recommend it

Serious case of style over substance. The cafe needs to hire some decent wait staff. They only brought out half our lunch order and we had to chase up the rest and wait over 20 mins for it. The waitresses we about as unmotivated and uninterested in their jobs as they could get. God help anyone who actually books a wedding here if this is the service. Plus the food was over priced and underwhelming. The so called 'gastro chips' were just frozen chunky chips - seriously. Don't waste your time or money at this cafe.

What a super place, glass blowing experience was very interesting and informative, we purchased the piece we had watched going from a hot blob of glass to an extremely attractive vase- entailed returning the following day but worth it. The young lady in the exhibition was very knowledgeable about the display of artworks. And to round off the visit we ate lunch in the restaurant, excellent food, friendly staff and superb view of the river. Will definitely return

We visited late on a Sunday afternoon. Lots of classes were going on so we had lots to watch. The shop was lovely. Sat and had a cup of coffee and watched a ship loading on the riverside. It was a mild evening so we took a stroll on the glass roof for a view.

Visited yesterday for a "Blow your own Christmas bauble" experience. I absolutely loved it. There is lots to do and see and a restaurant with very good food & drink. It is Free parking and entry. A great day out for all the family.

Visited today to make a trick or treat plate. �value for money

�friendly helpful staff.

We will certainly be back

Visited on Sunday with my family. Had a lovely time and we all loved the glass blowing demonstration. Popped into the restaurant for a coffee, so I could get my daughter a snack and feed my baby. The staff where lovely. Whilst I was feeding my baby, a lovely girl brought over a pint of water for me, saying it's hard work and she knows how thirsty you get. It was a lovely gesture that I've never experienced before. I'm confident when feeding in public but this made me feel very at ease. It was such a lovely touch. Thank you.

The National Glass Centre is another hidden gem in Sunderland, a city much maligned by locals and outsiders alike.

The NGC is a world renowned centre of excellence for hot glass works and ceramics. Regular displays of the glass blowing and shaping skills both entertain and educate. Amazing examples of the glassworkers craft are for sale and the shop stocks examples from outside the region.

Well worth a visit and don't miss St. Peter's Anglo Saxon church nearby which was the reason for bringing these glassworking skills to Sunderland, over 1,350 years ago.

Superb ! Well worth a repeat visit I enjoyed it that much. There is lots to do and see for all ages. Staff are welcoming and you can see to them it is more than a job or task. They actually love what they do and to see the people who go. The Children's activities brilliant and the staff are very outstanding ! A very welcoming place and inwould certainly go again. 😊

Our 2nd visit to the centre. Our first was some time ago and thoroughly enjoyed looking round and watching the demonstration. Bought a lovely coloured glass vase/ornament at a very low price. Our 2nd visit was yesterday to make Christmas baubles. What a great experience made special by the experts (sorry can't remember their names). Can't wait to get the baubles when they have cooled down.

Lovely place to call to. Breakfast was really nice. Service always spot on. Toilets clean, dry and comfortable. Picked up a lovely hand-crafted paper weight for £5! View second to none. Cream scone and jam gorgeous too!

Great insight as to how the glass was made and worked, watching the staff and students is amazing great place to visit well worth it and it's free but please at least leave a donation as they don't pressure you at all restaurant is very nice too 👍🏼

Fantastic day out, we went to make glass cars for father's day. Both adults and kids enjoyed it, staff couldn't have been anymore helpful, there was a problem with the finished product but they accommodated us coming back to redo it at a time convenient to us, and made a fuss of the boys. Thoroughly enjoyed by all and would definitely go back.

An amazing place with live demonstrations of hot glass blowing, including a great commentary so you understand what’s going on. The glass for sale is fantastic and great value for money. Lovely cafe with fab cake. I didn’t want to leave

Amazing Lovely warm friendly place. so enjoy it to day .. been waiting to go here for few Months well worth it glass blowing just blew me away fab place to go and vist x 😊

Watched a glass blowing demo, great how they do the glass, it makes you realise what craftsmen they are. Nice walk by the river too and then a view from the top of the roof over and out to the sea.

Took the kids to see the Glass blowing pumpkin demonstrations yesterday. We all really enjoyed it and kids were amazed at how they were made. Enjoyed a drink in the cafe afterwards and kids loved choosing some beautiful marbles to take home. Great that its free too! They have already asked to go back another day!

Lovely restaraunt but service was incredibly slow and not attentive. Food was good but seating uncomfortable.

The remainder of the building was interesting especially the real life glass making.

The historical side of glass making a bit disappointing...the lighting made it difficult to read information in the displays. Would have liked more history and less space for the art displays which were good but didn't work for me.

Overall a great place to visit.

Great place to visit. The cafe was nice but the system needs tweaking a bit as the food arrived quickly but drinks took slightly too long we saw them made and on the counter. However the lady who brought them to us was very apologetic about the wait. Lovely to see the exhibitions and glass blowing demo. Great to have free admission and well worth a visit

Easy to park. We got to the craft fair early and decided to have a drink and sausage bun. Only downside was that it took 40 minutes from start to finish for a basic service. Also thought it a bit mean-1 sausage in the bun for the price. That said the venue and craft fair was lovely- would highly recommend it

Serious case of style over substance. The cafe needs to hire some decent wait staff. They only brought out half our lunch order and we had to chase up the rest and wait over 20 mins for it. The waitresses we about as unmotivated and uninterested in their jobs as they could get. God help anyone who actually books a wedding here if this is the service. Plus the food was over priced and underwhelming. The so called 'gastro chips' were just frozen chunky chips - seriously. Don't waste your time or money at this cafe.

What a super place, glass blowing experience was very interesting and informative, we purchased the piece we had watched going from a hot blob of glass to an extremely attractive vase- entailed returning the following day but worth it. The young lady in the exhibition was very knowledgeable about the display of artworks. And to round off the visit we ate lunch in the restaurant, excellent food, friendly staff and superb view of the river. Will definitely return

We visited late on a Sunday afternoon. Lots of classes were going on so we had lots to watch. The shop was lovely. Sat and had a cup of coffee and watched a ship loading on the riverside. It was a mild evening so we took a stroll on the glass roof for a view.

Visited yesterday for a "Blow your own Christmas bauble" experience. I absolutely loved it. There is lots to do and see and a restaurant with very good food & drink. It is Free parking and entry. A great day out for all the family.

Visited today to make a trick or treat plate. �value for money

�friendly helpful staff.

We will certainly be back

Visited on Sunday with my family. Had a lovely time and we all loved the glass blowing demonstration. Popped into the restaurant for a coffee, so I could get my daughter a snack and feed my baby. The staff where lovely. Whilst I was feeding my baby, a lovely girl brought over a pint of water for me, saying it's hard work and she knows how thirsty you get. It was a lovely gesture that I've never experienced before. I'm confident when feeding in public but this made me feel very at ease. It was such a lovely touch. Thank you.

The National Glass Centre is another hidden gem in Sunderland, a city much maligned by locals and outsiders alike.

The NGC is a world renowned centre of excellence for hot glass works and ceramics. Regular displays of the glass blowing and shaping skills both entertain and educate. Amazing examples of the glassworkers craft are for sale and the shop stocks examples from outside the region.

Well worth a visit and don't miss St. Peter's Anglo Saxon church nearby which was the reason for bringing these glassworking skills to Sunderland, over 1,350 years ago.

Superb ! Well worth a repeat visit I enjoyed it that much. There is lots to do and see for all ages. Staff are welcoming and you can see to them it is more than a job or task. They actually love what they do and to see the people who go. The Children's activities brilliant and the staff are very outstanding ! A very welcoming place and inwould certainly go again. 😊

Our 2nd visit to the centre. Our first was some time ago and thoroughly enjoyed looking round and watching the demonstration. Bought a lovely coloured glass vase/ornament at a very low price. Our 2nd visit was yesterday to make Christmas baubles. What a great experience made special by the experts (sorry can't remember their names). Can't wait to get the baubles when they have cooled down.

Lovely place to call to. Breakfast was really nice. Service always spot on. Toilets clean, dry and comfortable. Picked up a lovely hand-crafted paper weight for £5! View second to none. Cream scone and jam gorgeous too!

Great insight as to how the glass was made and worked, watching the staff and students is amazing great place to visit well worth it and it's free but please at least leave a donation as they don't pressure you at all restaurant is very nice too 👍🏼

Fantastic day out, we went to make glass cars for father's day. Both adults and kids enjoyed it, staff couldn't have been anymore helpful, there was a problem with the finished product but they accommodated us coming back to redo it at a time convenient to us, and made a fuss of the boys. Thoroughly enjoyed by all and would definitely go back.

An amazing place with live demonstrations of hot glass blowing, including a great commentary so you understand what’s going on. The glass for sale is fantastic and great value for money. Lovely cafe with fab cake. I didn’t want to leave

Amazing Lovely warm friendly place. so enjoy it to day .. been waiting to go here for few Months well worth it glass blowing just blew me away fab place to go and vist x 😊

Watched a glass blowing demo, great how they do the glass, it makes you realise what craftsmen they are. Nice walk by the river too and then a view from the top of the roof over and out to the sea.

Took the kids to see the Glass blowing pumpkin demonstrations yesterday. We all really enjoyed it and kids were amazed at how they were made. Enjoyed a drink in the cafe afterwards and kids loved choosing some beautiful marbles to take home. Great that its free too! They have already asked to go back another day!

Lovely restaraunt but service was incredibly slow and not attentive. Food was good but seating uncomfortable.

The remainder of the building was interesting especially the real life glass making.

The historical side of glass making a bit disappointing...the lighting made it difficult to read information in the displays. Would have liked more history and less space for the art displays which were good but didn't work for me.

Overall a great place to visit.

Great place to visit. The cafe was nice but the system needs tweaking a bit as the food arrived quickly but drinks took slightly too long we saw them made and on the counter. However the lady who brought them to us was very apologetic about the wait. Lovely to see the exhibitions and glass blowing demo. Great to have free admission and well worth a visit

Easy to park. We got to the craft fair early and decided to have a drink and sausage bun. Only downside was that it took 40 minutes from start to finish for a basic service. Also thought it a bit mean-1 sausage in the bun for the price. That said the venue and craft fair was lovely- would highly recommend it

Serious case of style over substance. The cafe needs to hire some decent wait staff. They only brought out half our lunch order and we had to chase up the rest and wait over 20 mins for it. The waitresses we about as unmotivated and uninterested in their jobs as they could get. God help anyone who actually books a wedding here if this is the service. Plus the food was over priced and underwhelming. The so called 'gastro chips' were just frozen chunky chips - seriously. Don't waste your time or money at this cafe.