Fig. 1. The Visitation, 1498, Church of All Saints, Gresford
Fig. 2. The Raising of Lazarus, about 1522, Church of St Gwenllwyfo, Llanwenllwyfo, Anglesey
A fantastic new illustrated catalogue of stained glass in Wales is avaliable online.
The free website includes around 5,000 images of windows from over 350 sites in Wales, dating from the fourteenth to the twenty-first centuries.
It features the medieval windows at Gresford, the marvellous Jesse Tree window at Llanrhaeadr-yng-Nghinmeirch, as well as important sixteenth-century continental glass at Llanwenllwyfo, Aberpergwm and Llanarth [Figs 1 and 2]. It also includes windows by most of the large Victorian firms, such as Clayton & Bell, Morris & Co., Kempe and Powells, and work by some of the Swansea-trained artists who have become internationally recognised in the field of architectural glass.
The windows may be searched by date, subject, maker, and position in the building as well as by place name, dedication, county or type of building. Windows may also be searched by the biblical references that are either represented in the subject matter or given in the window, sometimes offering a subtext on the main scene depicted. As well as searching by a variety of combinations, there are browsable lists of artists and makers, locations and subjects.
Photographer and researcher Martin Crampin at the University of Wales Centre prepared the catalogue at the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, with assistance from Nigel Callaghan of Technoleg Taliesin. The site is hosted by the National Library of Wales and has received funding from the University of Wales Welsh Industries Fund, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Pilgrim Trust and the Friends of Friendless Churches. It also builds on the work done on the Imaging the Bible in Wales Project (2005–8), funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
(all photos © Martin Crampin)
