Pint pots go bottoms up

Move over: The sleeker straight glass (left) is now the preferred vessel of drinkers

Pub drinkers will soon have to say goodbye to the traditional dimpled pint pot following the closure of the factory which makes them.

Ravenhead Glass, based in St Helens, Merseyside, which was the last factory to make the old-style glass, shut down last week.

The handled pint pot, which has served generations of drinkers, will soon be replaced altogether by the straight glass now favoured by many of today's customers.

It is so traditionally British

Alan Pickavance

Staff representative Alan Pickavance said: "The British have always been the best at making glass tableware and the dimple pint pot is a prime example.

"It is so traditionally British, efforts should have been made to keep the factory alive."

Money saving dimples

The handled glasses were first introduced to bars in the 1920s, and the dimples were added to cut the cost of the glass.

Ravenhead, which first opened on Merseyside in 1842 with one kiln, produced some of the first dimpled glasses.

Iain Loe, research manager for the Real Ale Society, said the jug's popularity had been eclipsed in recent years by the straight glass.

"Ravenhead was the last factory to make these pint jugs.

"The handle kept the beer cooler, but as glass-making techniques improved it was possible to make more robust glasses with less glass.

300 jobs lost

"Drinkers prefer to wrap their hands around their glass and that's why the straight glass has become more popular."

Ravenhead's remaining stocks will be sold off as part of the liquidation of the plant. About 300 workers have lost their jobs as a result of the closure.

St Helens has a proud glassmaking tradition and is also home to Britain's biggest glass manufacturer Pilkington.