The Waterford Crystal story first begins in 1783 when George and William Penrose founded their crystal manufacturing business in the busy port of Waterford. They seized on the opportunity to produce “plain and cut flint glass, useful and ornamental” in their factory, which was situated in the heart of Waterford city.

It was the enterprise and skill of these founders and their successors, which had such an impact for generations to come on the appreciation of glass, which is stronger today than when they began two centuries ago.

They employed 50 - 70 people who were led by renowned glassmaker John Hill from Stourbridge in England.
He brought with him experienced glassmakers and is given credit for setting up the Waterford Glass Factory. John Hill left after a short time due to a misunderstanding with William Penrose’s wife, Rachel.

However, prior to his departure, he had befriended Jonathan Gatchell, a clerk in the company with whom he had shared the technical information necessary to formulate the materials. On Hill’s departure, Gatchell became manager of the factory.

When in 1799, William Penrose decided to sell, Gatchell seized the opportunity along with other local families, Ramsey and Barcroft, to purchase the company and become the new proprietors.

“Ramsey, Gatchell and Barcroft respectively inform their friends and the public that they have purchased the establishment of the Waterford Flint Glass Manufactory from George and William Penrose...

...and have opened a shop on the quay in said concern where they intend to be supplied with an extensive assortment of plain and ornamental glassware and hope that by their attention, moderate prices and the quality of their glass, to merit the approbation of their customers.”

[an announcement in the December 1799 edition of The Waterford Chronicle by the new proprietors]

However, before dying in 1823, Gatchell had made Waterford Glass once again a partnership with his brothers James and Samuel and son-in-law Joseph Walpole.
As set out by the terms of his will, Jonathon’s son George was to come into the business in 1835, the year of his 21st birthday. Further developments led to George Gatchell making employee George Saunders a partner in the business.

By 1850 Saunders had left and George Gatchell was beginning to despair about the future. In a letter to a relative he wrote, “must now either get a partner with adequate capital, sell or stop work finally”. He also referred to the company losing money, and as a final gesture, George sent a magnificent Waterford entry to the Great Exhibition of 1851, in the aptly named Crystal Palace in London.

In a letter to his cousin Jonathan in 1851 the excessive taxation and lack of capital had taken its toll on the business, as he had written “I may mention that I have quite concluded on giving up the business as soon as I possibly can”. During its relatively short life of sixty - eight years, Waterford Glass prospered and enjoyed an unequalled reputation that has transcended the intervening centuries.

In 1947, while Europe was still in ruins after the Second World War, a small factory was set up in Ballytruckle, a suburb of Waterford, not far from the site of the original Penrose glasshouse.

From very humble beginnings the business grew, making it necessary to move to a larger site in Johnstown, nearer the city centre. Waterford Crystal today has very strong links with its illustrious predecessor.

In 1947, apprentices were initially trained by immigrant craftsmen, this time from the European mainland. Miroslav Havel, pictured left, was one such Master Craftsman, who during his 41 years of dedicated service with Waterford Crystal, created such famous cuts as Lismore, Colleen and Kildare.

Waterford Crystal as a result of its own success found it necessary to move location once more. Its principal manufacturing plant stands today on a 40-acre site on the outskirts of the city, over 20 times the size of the original Penrose Glasshouse.

Our sculpting department was established during the Eighties to create original pieces sculpted from blocks of crystal, which was later expanded to include items that became a huge success among our collectors.

These include pieces such as the Rearing Horse and Labrador from our Animal Kingdom collection together with the development of unique items for the Disney collection.

We recognized at the beginning of the Nineties that there were thousands of visitors arriving at the doors of our factory to see Waterford crystal being made. To facilitate our visitors, we designed the tour so that visitors could see the process close up and a decision was made to establish a Visitor Centre and our visitor numbers have doubled each year since.

In 1997, the Visitor Centre was expanded to include our extensive Retail Gallery, which hosts the largest collection of Waterford Crystal in the world. In addition, the Centre is a showcase for other brands in our Group Gift Portfolio, which include, Wedgwood Ceramics, Rosenthal ceramics, Waterford Writing Instruments, Seahorse Clothing and an extensive Craft and Jewellery collection.

To celebrate the dawning of a new Millennium, we created the Times Square experience as part of our magical factory Tour. For more on the Times Square experience see our virtual tour.