A look back through the history of stained glass (From Gazette & Herald)

A look back through the history of stained glass

2:59pm Thursday 26th November 2009

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ONE of the most striking images in this region are the ruins of Byland Abbey with its spectacular west front and main entrance dominated by the space for a missing circular window of giant proportions.

It was thought to be around 26 feet in diameter – eight metres or thereabouts – and it consisted of 24 spokes surrounded by a wooden frame.

I doubt if there are any records of the number of small panes from which it would have been made, nor of the images depicted in the glass.

When the abbey was active, this would have comprised a massive area of stained glass and it must have been a wonderful sight in the winter months as the interior was illuminated with thousands of candles as the monks celebrated Mass and sang their offices.

Other windows of the mighty church would also be rich with stained glass, but it was all destroyed as a prelude to the Reformation. The abbey church, with all its history, splendour and colour, was reduced to a ruin.

Such was the impact of Byland’s famous rose window that it may have inspired others, including the one in York Minster, but it does remind us of the wonderful skills of those ancient monks.

Indeed, the history of stained glass owes so much to the Catholic Church of old.

As most church windows depicted scenes from the Bible, as well as religious stories, they were known as The Bible of the Poor, and there is no doubt that monks and priests made use of the images in stained glass and the decorations on church walls to help present the gospel to those who could not read or write.

The beginning of the practice of using stained glass is not known. Glass is said to have been discovered around 2700 BC, but the colouring of it as a form of decoration came later, probably around 80AD.

It is known that rich Romans in the first century had glass windows that were not very transparent, but there is record of an English monastery of the 7th century having a window with coloured glass.

Thus the history of stained glass can be strongly linked to the Catholic Church in its buildings around the world. By the 12th century in this country, our churches and abbeys were rich with colourful images in their windows and in illustrations on the walls.

But the ravages of the Reformation destroyed much of that art work, often in the mistaken belief it was a form of idolatry.

If the Reformation destroyed so much fine art work in the 16th and 17th centuries, it did produce a new class of people.

Apart from the aristocracy, there developed rich merchants and a wealthy middle class who commissioned craftsmen to install stained glass windows both in their homes and in their business premises.

These were smaller than church windows and did not portray religious themes, but it meant the continuation of the craft of creating stained glass windows.

To produce a window, the craftsman would first draw a design to scale and then the glass, already coloured with metallic oxides, would be cut to fit the shapes.

A special tool called a grozing iron would be used for cutting the glass, which was laid in place upon the drawing. Additions such as folds in clothing or details like eyes and facial features would be added in black enamel before being fired in a kiln.

Having been fired, the pieces would be re-assembled on the sketched outline and held together with strips of soft lead. This allowed the lead to be moulded into shape to secure the pieces of glass, and, of course, lead does not rust.

Dabs of solder would often be added to make additional security and sometimes putty would make the joints waterproof.

The finished window would be very delicate, particularly if it was a large one, and so, when in position, it may have been necessary to reinforce it with wire stays or slender metal bars to prevent buckling and to make it secure in strong winds.

It is quite remarkable that such fragile masterpieces have survived and, even today, much of the construction of stained glass windows relies on skills that originated centuries ago.

When the famous rose window at York Minster was damaged by fire in 1984, thousands of pieces of glass had to be removed because they had been cracked in the heat and required restoration.

Now back in position, they are protected by panes of plain modern glass but that task, said to be one of the most challenging of 20th century conservation projects, made us realise the amazing skills of our medieval craftsmen.

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