The Significance of Stained Glass

Nineteenth- and twentieth-century stained glass is an essential feature of thousands of buildings central to the history and identity of the UK, but has usually been overlooked by art historians and is subject to sweeping uninformed criticism that has pervaded assumptions and hindered analysis in established fields of study. Much more than transparent pictures, stained glass utilises the properties of glass, paint and lead to transform interior space, mediating cultural memory as monuments from the past. Stained glass is also increasingly at risk as the buildings that it was made for, especially places of worship, close and are redeveloped. Its significance is often overlooked in the listing of historic buildings, leaving it vulnerable during redevelopment. Appreciating the value of stained glass is profoundly constrained when the work of so many stained glass artists and studios remains unresearched and the historical and social significance of stained glass has yet to be explored. This project will develop new approaches for recognising and evaluating the significance of stained glass in the built environment. It will demonstrate methods for gathering data in partnership with specialists, stakeholders and local communities to increase our understanding of the variety and quality of an artform unrivalled for its immediacy and presence across so many communities. The project will affirm the importance of stained glass to the story of British Art in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by drawing out examples of artistic and technical virtuosity and innovation. The project will also interrogate the intense locality and site-specific nature of stained glass, considering its social and community significance; the presence of stained glass in unusual locations; shifts in the situational meaning of windows after changes in building use; and the extent to which the commemorative functions and meanings of stained glass are contested. To do so, the project will deliver on three primary objectives: new survey of stained glass in north-west England and Wales will provide information on hundreds of examples of stained glass from a variety of building types for future study and comparison with other areas; a series of case studies on individual windows and schemes of windows will demonstrate different kinds of artistic, technical, heritage and community significance of stained glass; a research-led approach to understanding and assessing the significance of stained glass, published as a ChurchCare guidance document for the Cathedrals and Church Buildings Department of the Church of England, informing the allocation of funding for conservation and preservation of stained glass, and a guidance document for Cadw (Welsh Government’s historic environment service). Catalysing this combined approach to appreciating the significance of stained glass will not only extend the scope of its study in the history of art and architecture and visual studies, but also make significant advances in the study of the UK’s heritage, informing practical heritage planning, conservation and preservation. Assessing significance is essential when managing change for historic buildings and the guidance authored by the project, developed in partnership with stakeholders, will support informed judgements based on agreed criteria.