In a method of manufacturing a ferroelectric liquid crystal device, the following steps are applied in order to effect spacing apart of two substrates and by spacers. The spacers are applied to a surface of a transfer member, and the transfer member is then pressed onto a receiving surface of one of the substrates. The transfer member is then removed so as to transfer the spacers from the transfer member to the receiving surface at the required positions. Finally the other substrate is pressed onto the spacers on the receiving surface so as to form an assembly of the two substrates spaced apart by the spacers. Such a sequence of steps enables the spacers to be placed in the required positions in a particularly straightforward manner, whilst minimising the number of fabrication steps used in the process.