Fig. 1. The Risen Christ: Detail of one of the Lichfield windows.
The well-known conservator, Keith Barley FMGP, will be speaking about Lichfield Cathedral’s magnificent sixteenth-century windows, formerly at the Cistercian abbey of Herkenrode, near Hasselt (Liége), in modern Belgium, at a special BSMGP lecture in London on March 9th.
Painted between 1532 and 1539, this glass was brought to England in 1802 after Napoleon had dissolved the monasteries and nunneries in his empire. It was purchased by the Cathedral to replace its own stained glass destroyed during the English Civil War.
Still remarkably complete, the windows are currently undergoing a major conservation campaign by Keith and his team at Barley Studios near York.
The talk will examine some of the techniques used in the painting of the windows and describe the challenges posed during the current conservation campaign.
For further details, including bookings for the Lecture, visit the website.
Further Reading
Vandem Bemden, Y., ‘The 16th-Century Stained Glass from the Former Abbey of Herkenrode in Lichfield Cathedral’, The Journal of Stained Glass, XXXII, 2008, pp. 49–90.
Vandem Bemden, Y., and Kerr, J. with a contribution from Opsomer, C., ‘The Sixteenth-Century Glass from Herkenrode Abbey (Belgium) in Lichfield Cathedral’, Archaeologia, CVIII, 1986, pp. 189–226.