Conservation Grants

Grants for Conserving Stained Glass

Our grants are available to ecclesiastic and other public buildings exclusively for the conservation of historic and/or artistically significant stained and architectural glass. The Grants are made by The Glaziers Trust, part of the Company’s charitable foundation, which has two principal objectives:

  • The conservation of historic and/or artistically significant stained and architectural glass.
  • Promoting the craft by supporting the education and training of craftsmen and women in the fields of stained and painted glass, and by fostering public information and awareness.

 

How to apply

You can download full details of the material which should accompany an application, together with an application form. Applications will be assessed by an expert panel composed of leading national and international practitioners in the stained glass field. Decisions will be based on the significance of the stained glass, the conservation urgency, and quality and appropriateness of the conservation methodology. Applicants must submit:

  • A completed application form
  • A condition report authored by a qualified stained glass conservator

Documents should be submitted electronically to awards@worshipfulglaziers.com.

 

Size and scope

We usually dispense grants of up to £6,000. Custodians responsible for the care of large glazing schemes are encouraged to focus their applications on a specific outstanding window that is judged to be in most need of conservation. Applications for grant-funding for multiple windows are unlikely to be successful. We do not fund the restoration of plain glazing. We also do not support work that has already begun, or that has been completed. Conditions of the grant can be found here.

Intending applicants are strongly advised to contact Dr Marie Groll (awards@worshipfulglaziers.com or 07811 106264), before submitting an application, in order to receive preliminary guidance and support.

 

Standards

The Trust is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of excellence in the craft, and only supports conservation work undertaken by ICON accredited stained glass conservators.

 

Previous Grants

Conservation Grants awarded in 2021

£3,000 – Fifteenth-century east window, St Neot, Liskeard, Cornwall. Contractor: Dan Humphries Stained Glass.

£4,000 – Fifteenth-century window, s3, Great Malvern Priory, Malvern, Worcestershire. Contractor: The York Glaziers Trust

£1,500 – Nineteenth-century William Wailes window, St Thomas, Thurstonland, West Yorkshire. Contractor: Jonathan and Ruth Cooke.

£1,500 – Nineteenth-century John Hardman window, St Margaret of Antioch, Barley, Hertfordshire. Contractor: Auravisions.

£2,500 – Fifteenth-century window, Browne’s Hospital, Stamford, Lincolnshire. Contractor: Barley Studio.

Conservation grants awarded in 2020

£2,000 – Fifteenth-century Corporal Acts of Mercy window, All Saints, North Street, York; Contractor: Barley Studio, York.

£2,000 – 1696 window by Henry Gyles of York, St Mary the Virgin, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire; Contractor: Jonathan and Ruth Cooke, Ilkley.

£2,000 – Fifteenth-century stained glass in the south aisle traceries, St Michael and All Angels, Thornhill, West Yorkshire; Contractor: Jonathan and Ruth Cooke, Ilkley.

£500 – Nineteenth-century stained glass in the west window, Holy Trinity, Bradpole, Dorset; Contractor: Dan Humphries Stained Glass, Chewton Mendip.

£2000 – Fourteenth-century fragments in the chancel window, St John the Baptist, Hughley, Shropshire; Contractor: Jim Budd Stained Glass, Kington.

£1,000 – Composite medieval window, Holy Cross Church, Gilling East, North Yorkshire; Contractor: Ruth and Jonathan Cooke, Ilkley

£500 – 1875 Clayton and Bell window, St Wulfram, Grantham, Lincolnshire; Contractor: Limelight Studio, Medbourne

£2,000 – Composite medieval window, St Michael, Munslow, Shropshire; Contractor: Jim Budd Stained Glass, Kington

£500 – Nineteenth-century Wippel and Co stained glass, St John, Broadstone, Dorset; Contractor: Dan Humphries Stained Glass, Chewton Mendip

£2,000 – Expansion of the range and depth of the material on the open access inventory project, Stained Glass in Wales

Conservation grants awarded in 2019

£2,000 – Medieval North Window (15 th century), Church of St Hugh, Quethiok, Cornwall; Contractor: Holy Well Glass, Wells

£2,000 – South Window by Clayton and Bell (19 th century), Church of St Peter and Paul, Algakirk,Lincolnshire; Contractor: Barley Studio, York.

£2,750 – Series of Medieval Panels in the Long Gallery Windows (various dates), Burton Constable Hall, Skirlaugh, East Yorkshire; Contractor: York Glaziers Trust, York.

£2,000 – Hardman West Window (20th century), St Matthew, Hull, East Yorkshire; Contractor: Barley Studio, York.

£1,500 – The Swedish Windows (20th century), Coventry Cathedral, West Midlands; Contractor: York Glaziers Trust, York.

£1,500 – The Pricke of Conscience Window (15th century), All Saints North Street, York, North Yorkshire; Contractor: TBA.

£1,500 – A window by Pearson/Jervais (19th century), St Mary the Virgin, Speldhurst, Kent; Contractor: Chapel Studio, Kings Langley.

£1,500 – Three windows by Clayton and Bell (19th century), The Church of St John, Howsham, North Yorkshire; Contractor: Barley Studio, York.

£1,500 – Thomas Willement East Window (19th century), All Saints Church, Wighill, North Yorkshire; Contractor: Barley Studio, York.

£1,500 – Abraham van Linge East Window (17 th century), Church of St Lawrence, Morden, Surrey; Contractor: Holy Well Glass, Wells.

 

Organisations supported

We also award regular annual grants to the following organisations in order to support their ongoing work in the stained glass field:

        • The Stained Glass Museum, Ely
          The only museum in the UK dedicated to stained glass, located within the magnificent Ely Cathedral. The Trust provides the museum with an annual grant in order to assist with running costs and museum activities.
        • The Journal of Stained Glass, British Society of Master Glass Painters (BSMGP)
          Since 1924 the BSMGP have produced a fully illustrated journal to its members covering all aspects of the stained glass craft. A grant is provided by the Trust in order to assist with production costs for the journal.
        • MA in Stained Glass Conservation and Heritage Management, The University of York
          The only course of its type in the English speaking world, the Trust provides a grant that provides financial support to students studying on this MA.
        • Vidimus, Corpus Vitrearum Great Britain
          The only subscription-free online magazine dedicated to stained glass, the Trust provides a grant in order to assist with running costs, so that the magazine remains free to all.
        • British Society of Master Glass Painters (BSMGP) Touring Conference

        The BSMGP have for many years run an annual touring conference that explores the stained glass of the British Isles in-depth. The Trust provides financial support in order to cover two students to attend.

        Moat Memorial Prize

        All successful applications are also automatically entered into the prestigious Moat Memorial Prize, which promotes and encourages excellence in conservation report-writing. This is awarded annually (in October each year) to the most outstanding application. A small prize of £500 is given to the successful applicant, and the studio who authored the supporting paperwork is permitted to advertise that their report is prize-winning. The award is extremely competitive. Details of past prize winners can be found below:

    2020
    St Michael, Munslow, Shropshire
    Funds were requested in order to conserve and protect a composite medieval window in the nave of a Grade I listed rural parish church. The rigorous condition report and specification was authored by Jim Budd ACR of Jim Budd Stained Glass, Kington.

  • 2019
    Coventry Cathedral, Coventry, West Midlands
    Funds were requested in order to conserve a series of five twentieth-century windows by the Swedish artist Einar Forseth; one of only a handful examples of their type outside of Sweden. The condition report, tender documents, and extended statement of significance, were all authored by international stained glass consultancy, Büro Rauch.2018
    Church of the Ascension, Whixley, North YorkshireFunds were requested in order to conserve the mid nineteenth-century east windows of the north and south nave aisles (nIV and sIV). The windows were by nineteenth-century York stained glass firm Hodgson of York, who were commonly employed to repair and install many of Belgian stained glass artist Jean-Baptiste Capronnier’s (1814-1891) windows. The condition report, authored by Alison Gilchrist ACR, was undertaken by Barley Studio, York.

People

The committee is composed of the following members:

Steve Graham (Chair)

Dr Jasmine Allen
Jasmine is Director and Curator of The Stained Glass Museum, in Ely. She is an associate member of the British Corpus Vitrearum, committee member of the Stained Glass Repository and honorary Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers & Painters of Glass.

Keith Barley ACR

Richard Bettinson (Treasurer)
Richard is a trustee of the Glaziers’ Foundation and was appointed Treasurer in 2018. He is a member of the Glaziers’ Trust Committee and also of the Court of Assistants of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers & Painters of Glass.

Sarah Brown

John Dallimore

Dr Marie Groll (Administrator)
Marie is a manager at the York Glazier s Trust, and project director for international arts consultancy Büro Rauch. She is vice chair of the ICON Stained Glass Group, and an associate member of the British Corpus Vitrearum. She is the administrator and co-ordinator for the conservation grants and awards at the Worshipful Company.

Dan Humphries ACR
Dan is a stained glass conservator, accredited with the Institute of Conservation(ICON). He runs a small stained glass business based in the Mendip Hills, Somerset. Dan also sits on the ICON Stained Glass Group committee.

H. Thomas Küpper MA ACR
Tom worked for over 30 years as a stained glass conservator being the Head of Glazing at Lincoln Cathedral. In 2018 Tom worked for Historic England assisting parish churches with access to grant funding and maintenance planning. Since January 2020 Tom has worked at Peterborough Cathedral as Estates and Facilities Manager and he is part of the governing Exec. He is an Accredited Conservator Restorer (ACR) and a stained glass adviser to the Lincoln Diocese and a committee member of the Church Building Council (CBC) and a member of the Birmingham Cathedral Fabric Advisory Committee.

Prof. Sebastian Strobl MA PhD
Prof. Strobl gained his PhD in History of Art in 1989, and subsequently worked for 15 years as the director of the stained glass conservation studio at Canterbury Cathedral. He has been a specialist conservation adviser and consultant for a wide range of national and international research and technical projects, and has served as a consultant for a number of museums and grant-funding organisations. He is now the head of department and course director in the Conservation Department at the University of Applied Sciences in Erfurt, and has served on the Glaziers Trust committee for over 20 years.