Page 127 - The Building Conservation Directory 2013
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t w e n t i e t h a n n i v e r s a r y e d i t i o n
t h e b u i l d i n g c o n s e r vat i o n d i r e c t o r y 2 0 1 3
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3.3
Structure & Fabric :
Metal,
Wood & Glass
DECORATIVE & STAINED GLASS
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BARLEY STUDIOS LTD
Church Balk, Dunnington, York YO19 5LH
Tel/Fax 01904 489093 Mobile 07711 635014
Email
STAINED GLASS CONSERVATION, RESTORATION AND CREATION
: Keith
Barley, Icon accredited conservator, established Barley Studio, York,
40 years ago. The studio has gained an international reputation for the
high standard of its stained glass conservation and restoration for the
nation’s cathedrals, stately homes and parish churches. Barley Studio
is also known for its new work, with artist Helen Whittaker winning
commissions for many prestigious buildings across the UK. The studio
covers all aspects of stained glass and related metalwork: environmentally
protective isothermal glazing systems, restoration and supply of
ferramenta and opening casements, stainless steel wire guards, period
style plain glazing and antique glasses, consultation, surveys and reports.
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C J L DESIGNS
36 Vinney Lane, Blatchbridge, Frome, Somerset BA11 5EH
Tel 01373 472008 Mobile 07968 175069
Email
STAINED GLASS AND LEADED LIGHTS
: Established in 1988, CJL Designs
restores and manufactures windows in all settings. The company offers
a professional service and advice for restoring existing glass, frames and
furniture and a bespoke design service for new commissions in private
and public buildings; condition surveys and recommendations for
remedial work. It maintains and refurbishes leaded lights and frames,
including Crittal type, cast iron and hoppers, and advises on water
ingress, vandalism and protective grilles. Work is undertaken both in situ
and in the studio. Projects have included: churches within the Oxford,
Winchester and Guildford dioceses; work for Cadw; the Falkland Islands
Chapel, Pangbourne; Roundway Hospital, Devizes; Littlecote House,
Hungerford; Worcester Cottage, Brecon; Herriard and Rushmore estates
and other listed buildings.
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THE CATHEDRAL STUDIOS
8a The Precincts, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2EG
Tel 01227 865265 Fax 01227 865222
Email
SPECIALISTS IN STAINED GLASS CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION
:
The Cathedral Studios looks back on 38 years of successful conservation
of the medieval, post medieval and Victorian heritage in Canterbury
Cathedral and in many other cathedrals, churches and buildings
throughout the country. The studio’s team of eight highly trained
conservators will be pleased to advise on the conservation and protection
of your glass. Two of the studio’s conservators are PACR accredited.
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CLIFFORD G DURANT & SON
The Glasshouse Studio, New Street, Horsham,
West Sussex RH13 5DU
Tel 01403 264607 Mobile 07860 310138 Fax 01403 264607
Email
STAINED AND LEADED GLASS
: Accredited stained glass and leaded glass
conservators. Quality and professional service, surveys, installation,
using fine hand-drawn lead and fine lime mortars.
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ILLUMIN GLASS STUDIO
57 Prestbury Road, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 1AU
Tel 01625 613600
STAINED GLASSWINDOWS AND LIGHTING
: Illumin has been making and
repairing leaded-glass windows and lighting since 1979, and can also
supply antique and other sheet glass. The studio can provide services
including etching, bevelling and brilliant-cutting, and can repair or supply
wooden, metal or stone window frames. It covers about a 30 mile radius
area around Macclesfield. Recent work includes: complete re-glazing of
a 16th century farmhouse and a 17th century cottage; repairs to local
churches; repairs and new panels at Chetham School, Manchester; and
repairs and new windows for private houses of various ages.
The Henry Holiday windows in St Mary’s
Church, Stowting, Kent, a case study
The congregation of a small medieval parish church in Kent was
delighted to learn that their church contained fine stained glass
windows by Henry Holiday (1839–1927). Holiday was a Pre-Raphaelite
painter, designer, sculptor and illustrator, who succeeded Edward
Burne-Jones as designer of stained glass windows at Powell’s Glass
Works in London in 1861 and set up his own studio in 1891. One of his
best windows can be seen in Westminster Abbey.
The three small windows in St Mary’s Church were so densely
covered with dirt and microbial growth that no-one had given them
a second glance in decades. Ivy had invaded the space between the
rusting safety grilles, covering the stained glass even further. The
church is situated in a deep and damp valley, and is surrounded by
trees that grow very close to the building. This created a sheltered and
stagnant micro-climate with very high humidity and low light levels.
All of the church’s windows therefore showed dense micro-organism
growth on the inside of the glass.
In 2005, a survey of the stained glass windows was commissioned. It
was then that the partially obscured Henry Holiday glass was identified.
Close inspection revealed that the stained glass was not only
covered with dirt deposits, microbial growth and ivy, but that
underneath it all the delicate paintwork was in very poor condition.
The long exposure to stagnant condensation and to acidic metabolic
products from the micro-organisms had resulted in patchy losses of the
decoration. Losses were particularly severe where water was pooling on
the glass above horizontal lead profiles. The thin washes and the very
fine applied skin tone were mottled with patchy losses where algal mats
and moulds had invaded the surfaces.
The severity of the damage, the fragility of the remaining decoration
and the importance of the windows led to the relatively unusual decision
to protect them with external protective glazing. This decision was not
taken lightly, as it constituted a change to the building’s historic fabric.
Protective glazing is more usually installed where corroded medieval
stained glass needs protection from the elements.
In St Mary’s, however, even with planned improvements to the
heating system and some thinning out of the trees around the building,
the levels of humidity were going to remain high enough to cause more
damage to the already badly affected glass.
The stained glass was therefore removed from the glazing grooves
and taken to the conservation studio. The first treatment was the
repeated application of a fine mist of an ethanol-water mixture to kill
any active micro-organisms. Careful cleaning with small sable brushes
was then carried out, mostly under the microscope to avoid dislodging
any of the unstable paint. Loose paint flakes were consolidated with
minute droplets of acrylic resin. At times it was deemed too hazardous
to remove the dead micro-organisms from very flaky paint layers. In
those cases they were left in place and consolidated together.
The protective glazing was installed into the original glazing
groove and sealed in. A condensation tray was installed at the bottom
of the outer glazing, with a drainage pipe that would evacuate run-off
to the exterior.
After conservation, the now beautifully crisp and jewel-like
Henry Holiday windows were framed with narrow bronze profiles and
attached to the stonework about 50mm behind the outer glazing. Small
slots at the bottom and at the top of the frames allow air to circulate
around the stained glass, keeping it completely dry and free from
condensation.
The external appearance of these three windows has certainly
changed, as the protective glazing has a much more reflective surface
than the historic stained glass. The western end of the church is
surrounded by trees and is little visited, however, so this change was
deemed acceptable.
Seen from the inside of the building, the west wall looks just as it did
before, except that Henry Holiday’s figures of patriarchs and angels now
shine again, and will continue to do so for a very long time to come.
Léonie Seliger
MA ACR is director of The Cathedral Studios,
Canterbury Cathedral (see profile entry on this page). The studio
offers stained glass conservation, restoration and design services
throughout the British Isles.
