BEFORE CONSERVATION CONDITION, AND TREATMENT APPROACH

Vandal damage resulted in the loss of a large portion of this small window section below. |It is part of a larger repair programme of two windows, each window consisting of two ‘lights’ and tracery openings above. I was sub-contracted to work on the entire project for a 4 month period, by Eden Stained Glass Workshop in Cumbria. My responsibilities for this project were as main conservator, glass-painter, glazier, photo-editor, project supervisor, and teacher to apprentices.

There was a great deal of missing glass, due to an impact attack, as well as multiple breaks in the remaining glass sections.

The image above shows the process necessary in order to reconstruct the panel, to make it structurally sound and ready for re-fitting into the building, alongside the other conserved panels in the window. The process firstly involved edge-bonding the existing original fragments, and filling any small gaps with conservation grade epoxy resin. Then, a new piece of clear glass was cut to fit the central gap. It was painted with traditional glass-paint pigments, and fired in the kiln to make permanent. After this a matching (yellow) silver-stain was applied to the back of the glass, and kiln-fired. I was able to draw the template for the missing lettering accurately by referring to an archive photo of the window, luckily taken a number of years before it was damaged. When all the components had been completed they were finally leaded together. It was important to divide the new and old sections of the panel with the thin lead came section, so as to clearly identify the newly painted section, to make the treatment reversible, and not compromise any of the original fabric.

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19th Century tracery panels, made by Hardman’s & Co. Birmingham

From Pocklington School, Pocklington, East Yorkshire

Low level intervention

Here I am highlighting work to six tracery lights, out of a total of 28 panels (eight lancets of two panels each, & twelve pieces of tracery).

They were removed from their original siting at All Saints, Emscote, Warwickshire, when the church was demolished in 1967. They were donated to Pocklington School in 2014 by school governor Darrel Buttery. Originally made by Hardman’s & Co., based in Birmingham; an extremely successful and well known company who began making stained glass in 1844 and closed in 2008. The firm grew to prominence through the combined talents of Gothic Revivalist Augustus Pugin, who worked as chief designer, and John Hardman, who manufactured his designs. After about 1849 Pugin’s nephew, John Hardman Powell took over the design role.

The panels were intended for internal display in the school library, after being in storage for many years. A purist conservation treatment approach could be taken, as the panels would not be exposed to the elements and no longer needed to function as a weather-guard. There was low level damage throughout the panels, with localised areas of concern. Therefore only localised in-situ repairs were necessary, which meant limited intervention & risk to the fabric, and a minimised the cost for the client.

Surface accretions were cleaned with a soft brush and/or cotton wool, with a solution of ethanol and water 50:50.Multi-cracked glass pieces were edge-bonded with conservation-grade epoxy resin or silicone. The repair choice was decided upon piece by piece once the panels had been inspected more closely on the bench. Any loose or brittle leaded light cement was removed, then any gaps found between the lead and the glass were hand-cemented to re-strengthen the panels. Finally the surface lead was blackened to consolidate the aesthetic and give some protection to the brittle/dry lead.