Stained Glass

Britain’s churches, great houses and civic buildings are treasure houses, adorned with a collection of vivid stained glass that is the envy of the world. This is the perfect introduction to this too-often overlooked art form.

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Stained glass has been one of the chief glories of Britain’s churches since Norman times. Stained glass windows developed through the middle ages, as new techniques were introduced, and the art of storytelling in glass reached ever greater heights. Surviving windows from this period make up the greatest collection of pre-Tudor art to have survived the turbulent sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries techniques changed, with the emphasis moving from stained to painted glass, and a new interest in non-religious subjects, but in the nineteenth century medieval techniques and subjects were revived. These windows from the gothic revival period constitute the great majority of our national collection of glass. The twentieth century saw a new flowering of stained glass, and at both old churches and new, modern glass is a striking and highly effective feature. This book examines not only the history of this wonderful art form but the techniques used to make it, from the first sketches all the way to installation.

This book is part of the Britain’s Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain’s past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with stained glass in all its variety.