Dr. Alison Gilchrist ACR

In January 2014, the 2.4m wide oculus West window of Stow Minster was blown out of its opening during a severe storm, falling nearly 10 metres and shattering into hundreds of pieces on the Minster floor below. Over the following days, the remains of the window (glass, lead and supporting metalwork) were collected together.  Remarkably, one of the nine panels making up the circle was almost intact, although others were so badly damaged as to be unrecognisable.

After long discussions between the parish, their architect and their insurers, Barley Studio were commissioned to restore the window as far as possible to its original appearance.  The window had failed due to the inadequacy of its original structural support system (ferramenta); therefore the design of a new and improved support system was an integral part of the reconstruction.

The window depicts Christ blessing the children, and is probably by Kayll & Co of Leeds. A plaque on the wall below states that “This circular window is erected in affectionate remembrance of Joseph Haydn Skelton (late of Stow Park) who died 15 December 1922”. We were fortunate to be able to source a high-quality photograph of the window before the damage from Gordon Plumb, which proved extremely useful to the restoration project.

The collected glass fragments were painstakingly pieced together, like a giant jigsaw puzzle, in order to save as much as possible of the original material, and to collate all available evidence for the original appearance.  There were some remarkable survivals; large glass pieces, including several of the heads and areas of drapery, that were complete and in perfect condition. Other areas, such as the head of Christ and much of the lower third of the window, were so badly damaged that only small sections could be identified from the tiny fragments remaining.

The original cutline (leading pattern) of the window was reconstructed from the identified glass pieces, with the aid of the Plumb photograph. Where possible, broken pieces were edge bonded together using conservation grade (CAF3) silicone adhesive. Where areas either could not be found or were too badly damaged to reinstate, new painted pieces were created. The glass colours were matched as closely as possible from our own glass banks of mouth-blown antique glass, as well as glass sourced from Tatra and Lamberts glasshouses.  The painted detail was faithfully recreated by copying surviving fragments where possible and following the original style where reconstruction was necessary.

In June 2017 the restored window was reinstated into the original glazing groove with the support of a new ferramenta system fabricated in black powder coated stainless steel, replicating the configuration of the previous bars, but in much more substantial square section bars and bolt fixed together.

This was a challenging but hugely enjoyable project for Barley Studio, requiring all of our investigative and restoration skills.

The Vice-Chair of Stow Parochial Church Council commented “The restoration of the window has been hugely impressive. We were amazed at the skill of the whole team in using a far greater proportion of the original glass than we could ever have envisioned, and the dedication to matching the original design and colours when fashioning new pieces. The finished window is a testament to the restorers’ craftsmanship.”

All Saints’ Church, Low Catton, dates back to the twelfth century, with additions in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It was restored by the architect GE Street in 1866, during which the fine East Window by William Morris & Co was installed.  The window, described by the Morris expert AC Sewter as “One of the most dramatic and emotionally intense of the firm’s early windows” was made to cartoons by Edward Burne-Jones (figure panels) and Philip Webb (tracery patterns). 

The main challenges presented by the window included heavy deposits of green algae on the glass (due to damp conditions in the church), some loss of the painted detail (most likely due to under-firing of the paint, but exacerbated by the damp conditions) and damage to the outer borders of the panels (due to settlement of the building, causing the stonework to open out, in turn pulling and tearing the stained glass panels).  The most important intervention, therefore, was to reduce the effect of the damp surroundings to keep the stained glass dry and prevent further paint loss and algal growth.

The window was re-instated with external environmental protective glazing, with the interspace ventilated to the inside of the building, providing ‘isothermal’ (dry) conditions for the stained glass. The use of external protective glazing protects the stained glass from the weather, and removes the need for the stained glass itself to form the climatic barrier for the building.  This in turn makes possible further conservation interventions, such as reinforcing faded painted detail in key areas of figures and inscriptions by ‘cold painting’ on the reverse face of the glass.

Cold paint mixed from traditional glass pigment with gold size and distilled turpentine has good paintability and is reasonably robust to water and scratching once dry, whilst remaining easily removable using an organic solvent such as ethanol. This is a simple, effective and reversible technique which can substantially enhance the appearance of windows suffering from loss of painted detail.

The stained glass was framed in manganese bronze and screw fixed to the stonework, with the new protective glazing of kiln-distorted (Barley Bent) glass fixed into the original glazing groove. Framing the glass in this manner gave a further advantage of protecting the glass from any further movement of the stonework, whilst allowing the glass to be easily removed in the future should repairs to the stone become necessary.