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.co.uk
Size and scope
We usually dispense grants of between £500 and £4,000. 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.co.uk 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 2024 (£11,000)
St Mary the Virgin, Hastingleigh, Kent. Thirteenth-century window. Contractor: The Cathedral Studios, Canterbury. £2,000
All Saints, North Moreton, Oxfordshire. Thirteenth-century window. Contractor: The York Glaziers Trust, York. £2,000.
St Winnow, Lostwithiel, Cornwall. Fifteenth-century window. Contractor: Dan Humphries Stained Glass, Glastonbury. £1,500.
Blanchland Abbey, Blanchland, Northumberland. Medieval fragment window. Contractor: The York Glaziers Trust, York. £1,500.
St George, Shimpling, Suffolk. Nineteenth-century window. Contractor: Auravisions, Essex. £1,000.
St Mary, Stalisfield, Kent. Medieval fragment window. Contractor: The Cathedral Studios, Canterbury. £1,000.
St Michael Le Belfrey, York. Sixteenth-century window. Contractor: Barley Studio, York. £1,000.
Holy Trinity, Long Melford, Suffolk. Fifteenth century window. The Cathedral Studios, Canterbury. £1,000
Organisations supported
We also award regular annual grants to the following organisations in order to support their ongoing work in the stained glass field:
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- 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:
- The Stained Glass Museum, Ely
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2024 – Blanchland Abbey, Blanchland, Northumberland. The York Glaziers Trust.
2023 – St Mary, Temple Guiting, Gloucestershire. Dan Humphries Stained Glass, Glastonbury.
2022 – St Thomas and St Luke, Dudley, West Midlands. Jim Budd Stained Glass, Kington.
2021 – Great Malvern Priory, Great Malvern, Worcestershire. The York Glaziers Trust, York.
2020 – St Michael, Munslow, Shropshire. Jim Budd Stained Glass, Kington.
2019 – Coventry Cathedral, Coventry, West Midlands. Buro Rauch, Koblenz.
2018 – Church of the Ascension, Whixley, North Yorkshire. Barley Studio, York.
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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.