99 CATHEDRAL COMMUNICATIONS THE BUILDING CONSERVATION DIRECTORY 2025 METAL, WOOD & GLASS 3.3 LIGHT PROTECTION Stained glass developments to reduce UV and IR LÉONIE SELIGER THE CHURCH of St Mary in Goudhurst, Kent, contains a rare painted wooden monument, the mid-16th century tomb effigies of local worthies Sir Alexander Culpeper, sheriff of Kent, and his wife Constance Chamberlayne. They died within a year of each other, he in 1541, aged 97, she in 1542, aged 76. Wooden tomb effigies were probably once common but due to their fragile nature less than 100 now survive in the UK, and most of those are now severely deteriorated and have lost their painted decoration. The Goudhurst effigies, in contrast, have retained most of their original paint, with only a few 19th and 20th century restorations. This survival is all the more surprising since they are set on a stone tomb chest, placed directly against an outer wall in their own alcove on the south side of the church. A large four lancet window is situated directly above them. CONDITION AND ENVIRONMENT In 2019, a report was commissioned to assess the condition of the wooden effigies and their painted decoration, with another, in 2020, to analyse the environmental conditions affecting the figures. While the church as a whole is well maintained, localised repairs to the area around the Culpeper monument had to be undertaken to reduce the ingress of water through the external wall. The Friends of St Mary’s Church Goudhurst decided to fund the conservation project, which they were able to do entirely through donations, fundraising and a grant from the Ian Askew Charitable Trust. They acted upon the recommendations of the reports, taking on the necessary repairs and changes in the right order: first repairs to the roof, and then repointing of the wall, before improvements to the rainwater goods were made. Another important recommendation was to reduce the very high levels of ultraviolet (UV) and infra-red light from the plain-glazed window above the monument. Infra-red (IR) radiation in the form of direct sunlight will heat up any object it strikes very quickly, causing thermal movement. UV on the other hand can cause some colours to change and fade. The painting conservator’s report identified paint pigments vulnerable to deterioration by UV light (vermillion, for instance, turns black over time). Flaking paint was observed as an ongoing issue. This is due to differential expansion and contraction of the painted layer and the wooden substrate, brought on by changes in temperature caused by IR radiation. Based upon these investigations, the installation of both UV and IR protection was strongly recommended. As the glazing was relatively recent, an intervention was justified on the grounds that it would reduce the rate of the effigies’ deterioration. The Friends of St Mary’s Church then approached stained glass conservators The Cathedral Studios for advice. The usual way to manage damaging light levels is to utilise adhesive UV films and solar blinds. However, UV film has a limited life and needs to be replaced every 10 to 20 years. For a window above a fragile wooden monument, this was not a good option. The Friends also did not wish to install fabric blinds as they would have seemed incongruous in a church. The challenge given to The Cathedral Studios was to see if the glazing of the window itself could be used to permanently control the damagingly high light levels (both UV and IR) without casting the effigies into darkness. Wooden 16th-century tomb effigies of Sir Alexander Culpeper, sheriff of Kent, and his wife Constance Chamberlayne, showing their original paint (All photos: Léonie Seliger) A large four-lancet window is situated directly above the effigies.
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