Chichester Cathedral"s Restored Stained Glass Windows and Stone.
I am interested in the stained glass of my local area and often visit churches and cathedrals whenever I travel in order to admire the glass there, and enjoy the play of light and the atmosphere created by this stunningly beautiful architectural feature. I have visited Chichester Cathedral in West Sussex UK many times as a visitor, and in the past few years also as a work experience and trainee in the stained glass tradition of the family studio. On my last visit I was pleased to see the results of the long restoration project, begun before I was born, is now completed and the stonework and the windows are both looking fabulous. This ancient building is very simple with architecture in English and Gothic styles, and the creamy Caen stone lightens the solid squareness of its form. Close by the cathedral in the towns centre are the busy shopping precincts branching off in a cross shape from the medieval gothic market cross building, creating a pleasant area to relax after shopping and sightseeing, and all close to the massive walls of the cathedral.
Now after more than two decades of restoration the cathedral is ready to welcome visitors again as it has done for the last 900 years. The windows have been fully restored to all of the great North and South Transepts, allowing light to flood in once more. The Lady Chapel has been restored and the windows by Clayton & Bell of 1882 look fabulous. The Chagall window has also been conserved, with specialist cleaning by our company and that has now completed the glazing restoration on all phases of work, including the famous Marc Chagall window. I enjoyed seeing the colours of this window echoed in flowers during the wonderful flower festival (http://stainedglassartist.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/chichester-cathedral-flower-festival/) held every year at Chichester Cathedral, something not to be missed if you are there during the summer. The whole cathedral is filled with the scent of lilies and thousands of flowers, all skilfully arranged on a theme which changes from year to year, and covering every chapel and aisle, and even suspended from the high vaulted roof.
For over thirty years the stained glass studio that my parents began has been making new windows to commission and working on the expert restoration and repair of traditional leaded windows, painted stained glass, and etched and engraved glass. The master glass painter at the studio is my mother Jude Tarrant, an elected Associate of the British Society of Master Glass Painters. Her work for new commissions can be seen across the UK and some of these can be viewed on her profile website as a stained glass artist. I am glad to be able to follow in their footsteps and I hope that the master craftsmen who created the windows in our churches and cathedrals would be pleased to know that their traditional skills are still being carried on today in the UK by dedicated teams of men and women who love this art form and would want to preserve it in its original architectural home, wherever possible. As a form of artistic expression and as a medium to convey the messages of the great religions in places of worship of every different denomination and faith I hope that there will continue to be beautiful new stained glass created to inspire and educate us, and to be a memorial to our own loved ones and to those respected by their contribution to society.
Now after more than two decades of restoration the cathedral is ready to welcome visitors again as it has done for the last 900 years. The windows have been fully restored to all of the great North and South Transepts, allowing light to flood in once more. The Lady Chapel has been restored and the windows by Clayton & Bell of 1882 look fabulous. The Chagall window has also been conserved, with specialist cleaning by our company and that has now completed the glazing restoration on all phases of work, including the famous Marc Chagall window. I enjoyed seeing the colours of this window echoed in flowers during the wonderful flower festival (http://stainedglassartist.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/chichester-cathedral-flower-festival/) held every year at Chichester Cathedral, something not to be missed if you are there during the summer. The whole cathedral is filled with the scent of lilies and thousands of flowers, all skilfully arranged on a theme which changes from year to year, and covering every chapel and aisle, and even suspended from the high vaulted roof.
For over thirty years the stained glass studio that my parents began has been making new windows to commission and working on the expert restoration and repair of traditional leaded windows, painted stained glass, and etched and engraved glass. The master glass painter at the studio is my mother Jude Tarrant, an elected Associate of the British Society of Master Glass Painters. Her work for new commissions can be seen across the UK and some of these can be viewed on her profile website as a stained glass artist. I am glad to be able to follow in their footsteps and I hope that the master craftsmen who created the windows in our churches and cathedrals would be pleased to know that their traditional skills are still being carried on today in the UK by dedicated teams of men and women who love this art form and would want to preserve it in its original architectural home, wherever possible. As a form of artistic expression and as a medium to convey the messages of the great religions in places of worship of every different denomination and faith I hope that there will continue to be beautiful new stained glass created to inspire and educate us, and to be a memorial to our own loved ones and to those respected by their contribution to society.
