The Vauxhall site had a history of glassmaking dating back to 1612 when Sir Edward Zouche started a glass works there which was later taken over by Sir Robert Mansell, the Lord High Admiral, who in 1615 obtained a monopoly on the manufacture of glass in England.
The process involved blowing a glass cylinder, slitting it lengthwise, and allowing it to open to a flat sheet in an oven.
Most of his glass plate, up to 1 metre in size, was used for the manufacture of mirrors and coach windows and was eventually of better quality that could be imported.
[1] Around 1680 they were joined by George Ravenscroft, inventor of the more durable lead crystal glass, who worked there until his death in 1683.
[3] In 1678 Buckingham was accused of traitorous activity, locked up in the Tower of London and deprived of his patents.