Restoration Case Studies
Period House – Portsmouth
I received a call in December to restore a fan light above a door, where the house name had faded over time and the lead needed restoring.
Upon removal and close inspection, the painting of the name had only been done in an acrylic paint and protected by a clear glass panel in front. Moisture from weathering and condensation had taken a toll on the artwork and had almost 'washed away' the name.
My brief was to restore the panel back to its former beauty and allow the house-name and colours shine through again.
The panel was stripped, cleaned, and re-glazed with new lead. The house-name was painted and fired in a kiln, thus removing the need to have a protective clear glass protective panel.
The breaks in some of the glass pieces were replaced with handmade glass of a matching colour and texture in order to be in keeping with the age and period of the original glass.
Now that the window panel is fully restored, the name is once again very distinctive and noticeable, as it was originally intended. The painted section will now last a lifetime due to it being professionally painted and ‘fixed’ in the kiln (same process for church-stained glass.)
Some Kind Words from the customer
“We contacted Ben after seeing so many positive reviews online of his workmanship. With our window seemingly beyond repair, we held out little hope that he would be able to fix it. However, we were soon proved wrong when Ben travelled down to the south coast, removed our fanlight and took it away to his workshop.
He re-leaded the whole window, matched bits of antique glass to replace broken sections and repainted (then set in the kiln) the touched up house name in the centre of the panel. The job was amazing – he even repaired some additional broken bits of glass that were not part of the job on the side panels. We have had so many compliments, with neighbours asking for Ben’s details to repair their own stained-glass windows. An amazing job!”
As well as restorations to church windows and architectural stained glass, I also complete smaller project such as the one above.
For further information, please call 07717 188885
or visit www.stained-glass-restoration.co.uk.
Restoration Case Study
‘Wig & Pen’ aka Thai Square restaurant 229-230 Strand, London
A call was received to quote on some damage to this prolific listed building after a bus had lost control and crashed into the front window and caused damage to some of the stained glass.
History
The Wig and Pen club was where lawyers (from the Courts and the nearby Inner and Middle Temple) drank with journalists from the newspapers. But as a consequence of the newspapers leaving Fleet Street from the 1980’s, taking their notoriously thirsty employees with them, the club closed in 2003. The present incumbents, Thai Square, have been in situ pretty much since then and retain the Wig and Pen name. Architecturally the building is extraordinary - it is one of the few in this part of London and indeed the only one here on The Strand to survive the Great Fire of London in 1666.
It was built in 1625 on Roman ruins and still has the original wooden suspended staircase, believed to be the only one of its kind still in existence anywhere in the world.
It was once the home of the Gatekeeper of Temple Bar, who began by selling a ‘penny worth of meat and bread’ to the milling crowds gathered to view the severed heads of traitors displayed on the spikes of Temple Gate.
It now plays host to very exclusive clientele from around the world as a restaurant named Thai Square. It is reputed that Oliver Cromwell haunts here, with some very unusual noises at night when the building is empty.
The leaded stained-glass window bearing the buildings original construction date still remains, inscribed with:
“Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy and drink thy wine with a merry heart, for God approveth thy work”
The accident
It was widely reported on the BBC as well as The Metro and other newspapers and tabloids that the 341 bus had crashed into the building. Read the BBC’s full story here.
"The building has so much history, it's a shame this has happened. It survived the Great Fire of London but not a modern London bus." (BBC report)
The Repair and Restoration
Our task was to completely remove the stained glass from the entire bay window, to be fully restored and to replicate any missing/broken glass as needed. The entire bay structure was severely damaged and needed a complete rebuild with a new frame and structural repairs. Removing the glass was straightforward as it had been held in with putty on some panels and beading on others. There was also a metal frame for the central pictorial window which the stained glass was held in place with copper ties.
Luckily, most of the glass had survived. But years of decay and traffic pollution had taken its toll on the appearance as well as the lead and every glass panel had to be stripped down, the glass professionally cleaned and re-glazed with new lead. Some of the painted sections were badly damaged and had to be re-cut from matching handmade, coloured glass and painted to replicate the original design.
During the restoration process, it was clear that this project would take time and skill to not only repair the windows. But to bring back the beauty of the 17th Century originality. English Heritage were consulted and under their scrutiny, we adhered to the traditional methods of restoration to the high standards required. Not only for their demands, but for our own pride and professionalism.
The Re-installation
The oak frame had been rebuilt and it was time to re-fit the windows. They had been in secure storage for quite a few months after the restoration and a final polish and check was required before the re-fit. It was agreed with the architect and English Heritage that although putty was used in some of the window panels, that wooden beading should be used. This was historically more correct and in keeping with the original build from 1625.
A Few Kind Words
“We contacted Ben and his company, Stained Glass restoration, with a view to arranging the repair and restoration of our stained glass restaurant front which has stood since 1625 at Thai Square, The Wig & Pen 229-230 Strand, London. The Wig & Pen is the only building to have survived the Great Fire of London of 1666 on the Strand. Originally built to house the gatekeeper of the Temple Bar. It was sadly damaged by a bus hitting the building.
Ben and his team carefully removed the glass and beautifully restored the windows to their former glory and with the scrutiny and approval of English Heritage and Westminster Council they were re-installed this Spring.
We are very pleased with the workmanship, professionalism and diligence that Ben has shown on his part of the project and will be happy to see the windows once again illuminated when the restaurant is re-opened.
Mr Halim Ur
Rashid
EMA Squared
Group
Accountants to Thai Square
Repairs to Lady Chapel. St Peter's Church, West Molesley.
This beautiful church window was the unfortunate victim of vandalism. Stones had been thrown at this antique window and had broken sections of the stained glass. I was called to see if I could repair the glass and restore the pictorial scene to its former beauty.
Leaded Lights
At the site survey visit, I was also told of some leaded light sections to other windows around the church that had also been broken in the past, and I was asked if these could also be repaired.
The leaded lights were made from clear, hand-made antique glass, which can sometimes be difficult to source for replacement and if not matched correctly, can be very prominent and seen as an obvious repair.
I wanted to try my best to source exact matching glass, so I left with the broken pieces of glass in order to start sourcing the replacements.
Getting the Blues
The Blue for the stained glass window was going to have to be very closely matched as it would otherwise stand out when sunlight shone through the window.
The breaks were to painted sections. Therefore I consulted my professional stained glass painter colleague Laura Perry, as she would be painting these and firing them in the kiln.
I was able to source the exact match of Blue, cut them to shape and passed them to Laura for painting.
The final repairs
The painted glass sections matched perfectly! It was now time to fit the pieces back into the stained glass panel. I was able to do these ‘in situ’ as the lead was still in good condition.
The 17 broken leaded lights were also an exact match. These were also replaced ‘in situ’ and can’t be identified compared to the original glass.
I was very happy with this job. Not only was the glass a perfect match for the stained glass sections. But also for the clear glass. It’s not always possible and sometimes a compromise has to be settled on. But with a collaboration between my colleagues and suppliers, we had a great result and a very satisfied customer.
Some Kind Words from the customer…..
Following recent vandalism to a large stained glass window at St Peter’s.
I found Bens website and contacted him.
As well as the damaged window he noticed some 17 other broken smaller sections of clear glass in windows all around the Church. The pattern within the replacement blue glass was beautifully replicated and the clear glass sections replaced so as to match the original. We couldn’t be more pleased with the excellent standard of Ben’s work and what a nice person to deal with.
Ben clearly takes great pride in his work and I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending him.
Mr Chris Perkins – St Peter’s Church, West Molesley https://www.spwm.org.uk/