Repairs
Our work ranges from major refurbishments for churches and town halls to the rebuild of a small domestic panel.
The cost of rebuilding a leaded panel is much the same as making a new one of the same design. If you allow for the cost of removal and subsequent reinstatement, it can often be cheaper to make new rather than repair old! The reason why some people prefer to pay for a repair is simply that it is often impossible to exactly match old glass with new. Sometimes all an old panel needs is to be flattened, have some joints resoldered and be recemented and cleaned. At other times only a complete rebuild will suffice; frequently the condition of the lead is a better guide than the condition of the glass. If pieces of glass are missing we will search through our stock of old damaged panels for a good match. If that fails we will use the best available modern glass.
If pieces of glass are cracked in only one or two places we will normally recommend keeping them and can either glue them together or join them with a fine lead.
Painting and firing glass is surprisingly affordable. We do all the painting and copying of domestic glass 'in house' but for religious work we use the services of Leslie Huitson, a fine restorer of 19th Century glass. For painted glass from earlier periods we will refer you to the British Society of Master Glass Painters who will suggest an accredited specialist.
Steps in restoring a simple panel
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