Report from the Warden...Stained Glass…

The expert examination of the church as part of the recent Quinquennial inspection has revealed severe deterioration in the fabric of the church and several of the windows; deterioration which needs immediate attention from conservation and restoration specialists. Most importantly, this urgent project will rely upon fund-raising to the tune of around a third of a million pounds. No small task, but perhaps this should also be seen as an opportunity to repair and preserve St. Michael’s for future generations.

The most vital work needed is on three of the larger stained glass windows in the church; if these windows are to survive at least another winter of frosts and low temperatures then it is imperative that they are removed in January and sent to an appropriate studio where work can begin. In the meantime the windows will be replaced with temporary double-glazed plastic windows.

The window under greatest threat is the Salvator Mundi, the centre west window with Saints Peter and Paul to either side. As with the majority of the windows in the church, this window is an example of Victorian stained glass and is dated 1863. Victorian windows were only expected to last little more than one hundred years – after this the lead joints holding the windows together approach the end of their useful life and the glass is then in danger of falling out or cracking. St. Michael’s windows date between 1850 and 1880; hence their recent deterioration.

The Salvator Mundi was built by the London glass painters Lavers and Barrand, who also executed the Evangelist window, the four-panelled (described as ‘four-lights’) window over the St. Nicholas chapel – the second window in need of immediate attention. Finally, the last window under serious threat is the three-panelled (or three-lights) window to the north of the centre west window. This window is dated 1860 and was designed and built in the workshops of Michael O’Connor, a pupil of the renowned craftsman, Thomas Williment. Williment was an instrumental figure in the revival of the art and craft of the stained glass window in the early nineteenth century. Other prized examples of Williment’s work and school can be seen in Henley, in Lambourn church, and at Moreton in Dorset.

Obviously, we will have to consider the other windows in the church once we have dealt with these emergency cases, but for the moment we have another concern; the stonework of the church.