Thomas Percival's father had co-founded the Manchester Glass Bottle Works in 1834 at 6 Prussia Street, Ancoats. However, Thomas decided to create his own glass business. He went into partnership with William Yates and in 1844 Percival & Yates was established and constructed the British and Foreign Flint Glass Works on Jersey Street, Ancoats, Manchester. The company would later become known as Percival, Yates & Vickers, and in the 1870s, Percival, Vickers & Co. According to the archaeologists who excavated the site in 2003, the British and Foreign Flint Glass Works was a purpose-built factory equipped with two glass furnaces, an annealing house, and associated workshops. The factory was one of several significant glass works businesses established in Manchester during the 19th century. By 1863, Percival, Vickers & Co was operating the largest of the city’s glass factories, employing 373 people. The success of the business led the company to build a third furnace by 1880, capitalising on the demand for press-moulded wares, as well as traditional fine cut and engraved tablewares. The final years of the business are not yet clear, but the premises had been sold by 1914.