Conserving windows: the rare art of stained glass conservation

Have you ever admired a stained glass window in a church or other building? Did you know that few people in Scotland have the skills to maintain and repair these windows today? Find out more from Gordon Muir, our Stained Glass Craft Fellow, who is honing this important and rare skill for arts venue at Lansdowne Parish Church in Glasgow (formerly known as Websters).

Based in the West End of Glasgow, I have been working with Rob MacInnes Original Stained Glass. Rob is a highly respected ICON (Institute of Conservation) accredited stained glass conservator – only five people hold this accreditation. Together, Rob and I have worked on new stained glass commissions, repairs and installations.

Gordon Muir holding a commissioned window. © Rob McDougall

At the start of my Craft Fellowship, I helped to make and install six new Gaelic language titled windows for an arts venue formerly known as Websters Theatre (Lansdowne Parish Church) in Glasgow. Collectively the panels were titled ‘The Red Forest’. This was a complimentary project to wider conservation, maintenance and repair works to the rest of the building. You can see The Red Forest windows at the Secession Lounge, now operated by a different owner. We are now working on a project to conserve and repair the historic windows in the upper floors.

Part of the Templeton Window, by Alf Webster © Gordon Muir.

Lansdowne Parish Church: a nationally important building

Lansdowne Parish Church was built in 1863 by architect John Honeyman. It is a Category-A Listed and T-plan early English-style apsidal church. Its spire stands at a height of 66.5 metres, making it one of the slimmest in Europe. In 2014, the congregation merged and moved from Lansdowne Parish to Kelvin Stevenson Church and Lansdowne Parish Church was sold and converted into a theatre.

The interior has a war memorial frieze by Evelyn Beale, and also of note is its 1923 Norman and Beard pipe organ.

Left: Architect’s etching of the former Lansdowne Parish Church, now Websters Theatre. © University of Strathclyde. Licensor www.scran.ac.uk. Right: Close up of one if its windows by Alf Webster, 1913. © Gordon Muir.

The building boasts three beautiful stained glass windows by Ward and Hughes of London, installed in 1865. In 1913, the spectacular windows by Alfred Alexander (Alf) Webster were added. Sometime between 1929 and 1934, Oscar Paterson’s window was installed. Later, from the 1950s, windows by Alf’s son Gordon McWhirter Webster were added. When the space operated as a theatre it was named after Alf. (Websters Theatre, Bar and Playhouse).

Left: The Ward and Hughes of London windows with scaffolding in place © Gordon Muir. Right: Detail from the Ward and Hughes of London windows © Gordon Muir.

Who were Alf and Gordon Webster?

Alf Webster was one of the most proficient and innovative stained glass artists of the 20th century. Unfortunately, he died in France serving with the Royal Gordon Highlanders after being seriously injured during the First World War. In his short life he managed to create a wealth of work and was ground-breaking in his approach to stained glass. His son Gordon later became an eminent stained glass artist in his own right and produced over 200 stained glass windows during his career.

Finding clues in the detail

The conservation project covers the three lancets (arch or window) of the ‘Glasgow window’ by Alf Webster, the windows by Gordon Webster, Oscar Patterson’s ‘Phoebe window’, and windows by Ward and Hughes. All of them are situated on the upper level of the church.

There are some beautiful smaller windows on the ground floor, but they are in good structural condition and not included in the current project.

A walkway being built to be used as a workspace to build the Environmental Protective Glazing (EPG) system and for us to work on the historic glass © Gordon Muir.

Being able to view these incredible windows close up reveals the detail, draughtsmanship and techniques Webster used so effectively. Much of the glass is double plated causing the light and colour to change as the viewer moves along the walkway.

Alf Webster’s windows have a wonderful depth of field, where he uses tone and shading to create a well-defined foreground, mid ground, and background. The modelling on the faces particularly interested me. Attending a recent glass painting course run by the glass artist Petri Anderson gave me some clues as to how he may have achieved the modelling on the faces. Using a mixture of vitreous paint, gum Arabic and vinegar, we were able to produce a very similar stipple effect. When this mixture is lightly but vigorously brushed with a badger brush, the vinegar and gum Arabic separate. The more it is brushed, the deeper the stipple.

Faces in Alf Webster’s windows © Gordon Muir.

When examining Webster’s painted faces, the viewer can see he has created highlights by scraping the wet stipple with a wooden stick. He may also have used bitumen to mask small areas before firing. These clues have been really important in helping me understand how the windows have been rendered.

Victorian skill and new ways of working

The Ward and Hughes windows are excellent examples of Victorian skill. The wonderful foliate ornamentation, based on leaves, flowers, vines and other plant forms, serve as a foil to the theatrical drama of the windows by Alf Webster. The large triple lancet windows give almost a light woven musical relief from the depth and gravity of Webster’s windows, like the different songs on the same hymn sheet.

Left: Patterns and colours in a Gordon Webster window © Gordon Muir. Right: Lion detail of one of Alf Webster’s windows © Gordon Muir.

Rob has developed a patented system to allow sections of the glazing to be removed and replaced by unscrewing cast bronze bolts. This has been used effectively in conservation work at Lerwick Town Hall, carried out by Cannon MacInnes.

It works by utilising a ventilated space between the stained glass and protective glazing allowing condensation to be gathered in a drip tray with hydrating lime ‘chuckies’. Once the glass has been cleaned and conserved, each section can be easily removed in the future using the newly fitted cast bronze units and brass bars.

Rob’s patented glazing removal system: cast bronze fixtures are used to attach the glass © Gordon Muir.

Learning as a Craft Fellow

The fellowship has put me in a position to be able to work on the conservation work on these fantastic windows. Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has also been instrumental in understanding and responding to the factors which place the craft at risk of decline. This art form is steeped in history and tradition and has increasingly encountered challenges that jeopardise its survival, as recognised by The Heritage Crafts Association.

Rob approached HES to recommend me as a suitable candidate for the Stained Glass Craft Fellowship. Prior to this I was keen to help Rob in my spare time with any glass projects he was working on in his studio. I did this while working full time as a care assistant, although as a graduate of Glasgow School of Art, there were transferrable skills which I have been able to bring to the craft and build on.

My fellowship has given me much valued practical experience of both designing and building leaded windows, an introduction to conservation methodology and materials, and the necessary health and safety precautions we need to use when making, removing, and installing leaded glass.

Alf Webster inscribed this window (lower left side) © Gordon Muir.

When finished, it is hoped that the venue will be another top destination for students and visitors to many of the surrounding wonderful stained glass highlights in Glasgow’s ecclesiastical buildings.

Find out more

If you want to learn more about historic stained glass window making, in-person and virtual tickets are available for our stained glass event Conserving Scotland’s Stained Glass on Tuesday 9 September.

Find out more about our Craft Fellowships or get in touch if you’re interested in hosting and collaborating on a Craft Fellowship.

We advertise all Craft Fellowship, Trainee and Apprenticeship vacancies on the Historic Environment Scotland current vacancies page, when available.

Websters is overseen by FACT THREE, a local charity founded by the trustees of Four Acres Charitable Trust to secure the future of the building. Funding towards the restoration, conversion, and conservation of the interior, and historic stained glass has also been raised by the Glasgow City Heritage Trust, crowd funding, and friends of the theatre. Recent funding has also been awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and the Glasgow City Heritage Trust for the conservation and Environmental Protective Glazing (EPG) system.