RA Conservation

Caring for our historic environment

  • About
    • Library
    • Portfolio
    • Gallery
  • Services
  • Contact
  • About
    • Library
    • Portfolio
    • Gallery
  • Services
  • Contact
  • About
    • Library
    • Portfolio
    • Gallery
  • Services
  • Contact

Follow me on Twitter

Tweets by @RachelConserves
  • Artefact Conservation,  Entries,  Glass,  Materials,  Stained Glass

    Radiant Roundels: working wonders with glass, paint and light

    6th January 2018 /

    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…

    read more
    Rachel Arnold 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Conservation cleaning – Frank Green’s riding whip

    25th July 2016

    Decorative Wooden Bannister

    9th July 2015

    Rockingham Vases

    9th July 2015
  • Architecture,  Churches,  Churchyards,  Entries,  Gravestones,  Stained Glass

    Why do I love visiting historic churches?

    1st March 2017 /

    “Historic Church” – There must be thousands of these signs scattered across the country yet every time I see one I am gripped! My mind races and I wonder what could be waiting for me at the end of that road. ‘Shall I follow the sign?…Do I have time?…Will I be late?…It probably won’t even be open…’ are some of the thoughts that fly through my mind. But I can’t drive past. What if… just what if I miss something amazing? So I follow that sign. I follow a spire or a tower. I follow bells! Location Unless you have already spied a spire or tower it can sometimes be…

    read more
    Rachel Arnold 0 Comments
  • Churches,  Glass,  Panel of the month,  Stained Glass

    Panel of the Month – February 2017

    14th 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…

    read more
    Rachel Arnold 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    1895 Newspaper report on a new stained glass window!!

    28th July 2016

    Panel of the Month – June 2017

    28th June 2017

    ‘Weep not for me your sighs and tears are vain’

    30th January 2017
  • Churches,  Glass,  Stained Glass

    Researching twelve stained glass windows in one church

    14th February 2017 /

    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…

    read more
    Rachel Arnold 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    ‘Weep not for me your sighs and tears are vain’

    30th January 2017

    John Bland – Haworth

    25th July 2016

    Church visits – Lead and Healaugh

    8th November 2015
  • Artefact Conservation,  Churches,  Entries,  Glass,  Stained Glass

    ‘But it’s only a jumble of fragments!’ – Investigating one stained glass panel

    27th January 2017 /

    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…

    read more
    Rachel Arnold 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    CCT Chattels project for the North

    6th April 2016

    Don’t be brash with your brass!

    15th March 2018

    Conservation cleaning – Frank Green’s riding whip

    25th July 2016
  • Ceramics,  Entries

    A visit to Rockingham Potteries!

    1st September 2015 /

    Visiting the demolished site of the Rockingham pottery factories in Swinton, South Yorkshire, has been on my to-do-list for a few months. Earlier this year, when I conserved three beautiful Rockingham vases, I found out quite a lot of interesting history and information about the firm. Most notably I discovered that although the majority of the factory buildings had been destroyed by 1910, the Waterloo kiln, a gatehouse and the pottery ponds can still be seen today. These remains can be found quite easily in Swinton, on Blackamore Road (S64 8UX), there is a small car park which is open for use by visitors. Following a public footpath at the…

    read more
    Rachel Arnold 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Rockingham Vases

    9th July 2015

Want to find out more? Search RAconservation for key words or places.

Recent Features

  • Don’t be brash with your brass!
  • Radiant Roundels: working wonders with glass, paint and light
  • In hope of a Joyful Resurrection
  • Panel of the Month – June 2017
Ashe Theme by WP Royal.