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Don’t be brash with your brass!
When it comes to caring for historic metalwork, less is very often more. Over-zealous cleaning and sometimes (dare-I-say-it) scrubbing, can lead to loss of carved detail in decorative metalwork. This can is undesirable when it comes to commemorative floor-brasses or plates, amongst other things. Inscriptions and dedications can be lost forever, disassociating the object from its history and ultimately losing its significance. In addition, excess polishing or waxing can lead to built-up residues on the metalwork. While the build up of residue is unsightly, it can also be damaging to the metal itself and cause long-term corrosion problems where moisture has been trapped. With this post I will briefly explain the…
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Radiant Roundels: working wonders with glass, paint and light
Roundels are small glass wonders which display detailed draughtsmanship and rich subject matter. They use light as the main medium for enriching an interior and are a delight to behold in any setting. Over the years I have been lucky enough to work closely with collections of these artworks and help preserve them for future generations. Netherlandish-style stained glass roundels are different from regular stained glass windows or panels. While stained glass windows usually use the whole space of the window, multiple pieces of glass and sometimes a building-wide scheme to create scenes, tell stories and depict figures within an architectural framework, roundels have a whole scene depicted on one piece…
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Panel of the Month – June 2017
Hope Panel 3b, window sVII of St. George’s Church, Anstey, Hertfordshire – 1907 This panel contains a personification of Hope and is one of three figures in a three light window containing virtues. The other figures depicted are Charity and faith. “It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Secondly, from a temporal perspective, love lasts, while “Hope isn’t hope if its object is seen”, and faith gives way to possession. Iconography In this depiction Hope looks heavenward apparently fulfilling her namesake virtue and hoping for a divine union and eternal happiness in the afterlife. She holds an anchor, which is one of her many…
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Panel of the Month – March 2017
St. Catherine Panel 3b from window nVII of St. Martin-cum-Gregory in York – c.1330 The panel depicts St. Catherine standing in a painted, architectural niche with an elaborate canopy – a common medieval design used to harmonise the colourful painted pictures with the surrounding stone walls. The glass itself is vibrant with colour running through the glass itself and not painted on, (pot-metal glass) with strong grisaille paintwork (black/brown paint) typical of its period. The borders of this panel contain a repeated merchant mark and the letter ‘R’. This mark belonged to Richard Toller who was a notable merchant in Micklegate, York and founded a chantry in St. Martin-cum-Gregory in…
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Panel of the Month – February 2017
Panel of the Month – February 2017 (Please click the image for more detail) Detail of panel 3b from the West window of All Saints’ Church in Stamford. The panel shows St. John the Evangelist leading a grieving Virgin Mary away from the scene of the crucifixion. He looks at her with sadness and tenderness. The tears are visible on Mary’s face in this image but are hard to see with a naked eye in the window itself. The window in question is a huge and very striking Victorian masterpiece by Clayton and Bell. It was created in 1888 and presented to the church by Mr. Edward Ingersoll Browne of…
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Researching twelve stained glass windows in one church
The Stained Glass of All Saints’ Parish Church, Stamford, Lincolnshire Conducting research of any form into the history of an object, artwork or building can be exciting and rewarding but also very frustrating and often confusing. This is what I found out when I set about researching a group of stained glass windows in a parish church in a town in Lincolnshire. Buy the book!! A full colour publication of my research is available to buy! The town of Stamford is well known for its antique charm. It was proclaimed by Sir Walter Scott as “the finest stone town in England” (Source: Visit Southwest Lincolnshire), was declared a conservation area…
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‘Weep not for me your sighs and tears are vain’
In the quiet leafy churchyard of St. Everilda’s church in Nether Poppleton I came across this beauty: Husband farewell and earthly friends adieu What in my power I’ve done for you My debt is paid, sec urely now I rest And trust through Jesus’ merits be blest Weep not for me your sighs and tears are vain I hope in heaven we all shall meet again The headstone is written in memory of Jane Bewley, wife of John Bewley of the city of York. She died at the age of 51 on 22 January 1703. Like many headstones this one is losing out in its battle against time and weather…
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‘But it’s only a jumble of fragments!’ – Investigating one stained glass panel
Not worthy of attention? Some stained glass panels and whole windows are dismissed because they have no clear subject matter, are a jumbled mess and are difficult to date. In this post I discover that a small, jumbled and confused stained glass panel can tell an important story about its history and interesting science-y facts about its composition and degradation. The panel pictured comes from the church of St. Peter’s in Barton-upon-Humber and is one I worked on as a portfolio project for my degree. It has a chequered history which I enjoyed piecing together – and is certainly worthy of attention! The Task To investigate the history and significance…
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Redisplaying the Houfe Memorial Chairs
In a damp cupboard in a little old North Yorkshire church, sat two dusty chairs… In 2015 we received a letter expressing deep concern about the whereabouts of a pair of chairs which had been donated by an ancestor of the letter writer. She had been to Allerton Mauleverer church and not seen the chairs. She wanted to know where they were! In some confusion I set about their discovery. The wooden chairs in question were made and presented to the church by ‘M.E.A. Houfe’, in memory of her mother and father, in 1902. They have beautifully carved backs, with intricate patterns and details of birds. The Houfe memorial…
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One week to go!!
Hi all there’s just one week to go until the Stained Glass Book Launch at All Saints’ Parish Church in Stamford. I am gearing up to sell a lot of books and also planning to fit in two short talks at 2pm and 6pm. Everyone is welcome to join us for refreshments throughout the day and what better place to buy the book than when surrounded by the windows it is dedicated to!! Look forward to seeing you all there!! To order the book please click here!!! It costs £20 and will be delivered within 3-5 working days after you receive a confirmation email.
