T W IDE, Glasshouse Fields, Ratcliffe

Thomas and William Ide moved their glass business to Glasshouse Fields around 1867.  “Ides”, its local name, had previously had premises at 77 Shadwell High Street and 33 King David Lane and moved there from possibly Woodford, Essex, in 1863. 

T W Ide was especially noted for its glass bending, as well as its stained, silvered, bevelled and coloured glass.  It had depots in the West End and provided a number of leading department stores in Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road with their curved front plate glass windows as well as their other glass requirements.  

“Ides” was a large employer of local labour and it was a sad time when T W Ide closed in the late 1990s.  The Glasshouse Field site is now being developed as a large housing scheme.