We were invited by Bolton Museums Service to demonstrate how traditional stained glass windows are made and repaired at the Smithills Hall Live Crafts Day. I spent an enjoyable time showing the many visitors how to cut coloured stained glass to the intricate shapes before joining the individual pieces using I section lead came. I also provided materials for children to ‘have a go’ at creating their own small window using coloured film and lead. I am constantly surprised by the interest in traditional crafts by the general public. I have also been asked to teach a stained glass window making class at the Hall in September. It will be great to teach the course and also take a tour around the historic building that I have helped to maintain over the years with numerous stained glass windows in need of repair and restoration. We have also protected all the windows in the Chapel using thick polycarbonate plastic. This gives extremely good protection of the windows and does not spoil the appearance of the beautiful painted glass. The only way to offer better protection would be double or triple glaze the stained glass as we do for domestic stained glass and leaded lights.
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