What is Stained Glass

Every time I get on the web I find another misguided definition of "stained glass". The reality is that like many terms it can actually mean different things in different contexts. Here I aim to discuss stained glass, leadlight and reproduction stained glass in order to give the reader sufficient information to wade through all the "expert" definitions. It can get quite convoluted so this post is deliberately simplistic. The point is every expert usually has an agenda to push and as you read on you'll start to see how this influences how they use specific terms and the definitions they perpetuate.

Stained Glass in its simplest context refers to glass that is stained, i.e. coloured. Glass is generally coloured in it's manufacturing process by adding metal oxides whilst the material is still molten. Ruby & Cranberry pink glass for example requires gold to achieve this colour. Hence it is the most expensive coloured glass. Many people refer to red glass as the most expensive or assume any pink be similarly expensive. In fact a good proportion of reds are now made from copper. Still proportionately more expensive than some other oxides but it's not gold! For more on glass colouring, particularly in it's historical context have a look at this article http://1st-glass.1st-things.com/articles/glasscolouring.html

The other way one might stain glass is to "paint it". Painting glass is really much more literally staining it but painting is an easy metaphor. In short stains or enamels are applied layer by layer and fired between each application. Different stains require different levels of heat to achieve fusion. Stain does not wash of glass like a paint nor scratch or fade the way modern reproduction glass stains or films do. It is actually a process of after market staining if you like. Hence why we are able to restore such glass a thousand or more years down the track. Ecclesiastical (church) windows are the most obvious example. You can have a look at a church window "under construction" here: http://tinyurl.com/m3c6sm Another period example of this type of work is the Victorian roundel.

While we're on the roundels I'll digress momentary back to the key topic of stained glass in Sydney. This sunflower roundel (pictured above) is prolific throughout domestic residences here in Sydney from the late Victorian era through to the federation period and possibly slightly beyond. The move to Californian bungalows making this style of stained glass design less relevant. To date we have restored, replicated and otherwise worked on several of these little historical gems but continue to be none the wiser regarding the original artist, or possibly as he would have thought of himself, the artisan or craftsman (and given the period I'm gonna guess 'he' & there is certainly another blog on the topic of artist versus artisan). Suffice to say we don't know who filled our city full of sunflowers. So if anyone reading this does please comment.

Back to topic.

Bound up in the definitional issues of stained glass is the term leadlight and further to that reproduction stained glass, glossed over above. Leadlight is really the technique used to hold the panel together. H-section lead cams are cut soldered and then filled with a sealant (the details of which get a bit tedious if your not a hobbyist so we'll save that again). This in it's purest form is "leadlighting". Louis Comfort Tiffany exemplified this in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as his studio began designing in the leadlight itself. Prior to this it was more a means of holding small pieces of glass together but now the paint work was being abandoned as he crafted glass that itself formed the image in conjunction with the lead lines.

Welcome Australiana, nouveau, deco. (pictured left)

Around this time design also came to use clear and clear textured glasses as key features in the design. You'll see many Californian bungalows in Sydney featuring leadlights that are principally designed with clear and clear textured glasses (clear referring to the absence of stain, texture being about literally that) with only small pieces of duck egg blue opaque detail.

Of course the example I've found in our gallery also incorporate some additional violet detail, but look to the tiny squares at the corners of the central detail.

So really there you have. Stained Glass and Leadlight. The only term yet to be clarified is the nature of 'reproduction stained glass'. This is a single sheet of glass that has self adhesive lead stuck to it (on each side) to resemble a traditional panel and is then either flooded with a "stain" that is more like a heavy duty version of the hobby paints you might buy to paint glass ware at home or coloured film is applied. Variation of texture is not possible in this form. This has it's place but I'll leave the applications of traditional versus reproduction to Sean (twitter: @sdingham or become a fan of Renaissance Stained Glass on Facebook). This seems to be widely referred to as "stained glass" in Australia to differentiate from the traditional. Unfortunately this is either tricky marketing or simply misguided as traditional stained glass has most definitely already claimed the name and has been so defined for at least 1000 years.

The Longueville panels...

It has now been established that the circular window installed in place of the "louvre ventilator"is still in the building (due for restoration later in the project). This is the 5 ft diameter panel purchased for 10 pound from St Andrew's, Longueville, in June 1929.

I have now tracked down "St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Longueville: silver jubilee celebrations 1911-1936", a publication held on microform by the National Library. At this stage I haven't established how to get my hands on said publication short of a visit to Canberra - which I've just done twice in the space of a month and probably wont be doing again any time soon so here's hoping technology is going to pull through for me!

Assuming that this panel was built for this parish, which is fair given that it carries its insignia (St Andrew's cross) we can now pretty safely say the panel is no older than 1911. Possibly almost 100 years old. Not ancient in terms of stained glass, but up there with the significantly aged in Sydney.

The first panels - Northbridge Presbyterian Church 1929

It is very early days in the historical search for truth regarding the origins of the stained glass panels currently under restoration in the soon to be Northbridge Library. (painted panels pictured left & right)

The records of the church council at the time of building the Northbridge Presbyterian Church on Sailors Bay Rd note the purchase of two stained glass panels. On 12th December 1928 permission was granted to purchase a window for the northern elevation from the Longueville Presbyterian church.

Building commenced on 4th May 1929. In June it was decided that rather than continuing with the planned louvre window in the southern elevation that a 5ft diameter circular stained glass panel, also purchased form the Longueville parish would be installed instead. This panel depicted the church insignia - St Andrew's cross and the burning bush. It was purchased for ten pounds having been removed from the Longueville Presbyterian Church where a new panel was being installed in honour of the McLeod's.

At this stage I have not followed up on the McLeod memorial window. I speculate that this may be the same McLeod's that founded the Spastic Centre though at this stage there is absolutely no valid evidence for that assertion. I'm purely sharing a fleeting thought as I blog along this journey of discovery.

Thus far we have absolutely no reason to believe that the panels discussed in these early church council meetings are actually still present.

The Northbridge Presbyterian Church was opened on 29th August 1929 at a total cost of 2,978 pounds including the land cost. If such a project were to cost $1,000,000 today (which is quite a reserved figure) the proportionate cost of one second hand stained glass panel would be $3,357.00.

About this blog...

This is a blog following a research project into the stained glass of Sydney, Australia. To date many people have written extensively on the incredibly historically significant works found in buildings such as The University of Sydney but have treated little else. As well they might really, they are the original works of art in this medium in the country. Whilst I'll likely approach these at some point the panels of great interest to me are the many varied, little acknowledged and pretty much hitherto never studied works in many other public buildings, churches and private residences around Sydney.
The prominent studio's in the UK, Europe and the US kept detailed records of comissions. Some of which can be found in Australia. In fact the Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. studio undertook quite a number of commissions for Australian architectural projects. (More than one residing in Newcastle north of Sydney interestingly enough). Sadly though much of the work "about town" remains rather anonymous.
To that end this will be a genuine web log of my research which I anticipate will emerge rather slowly on a whole as this is a personal project undertaken once my "duties" as a wife, mother and business owner are fullfilled. That business is Renaissance Stained Glass, Sydney, so from time to time I get to indulge on "company time" and thus my research begins with the ex-Presbyterian Church, soon to be Northbridge Library for which we are currently restoring the stained glass panels.