22/09/2026
September Meeting
At the September meeting of the Follifoot WI we welcomed Megan Stacey, of Silver Birch Stained Glass, who came to talk to us about Stained Glass Conservation & Restoration.
Megan, who gave up a career in teaching to learn about Stained Glass, took a degree in Architectural Stained Glass, learning both traditional and modern techniques, during which time she made a window for the Queen, and then an MA in Stained Glass Conservation at York. She worked on restoration at York Minster Trust for some time before setting up on her own as conservator and creator, designing beautiful new windows on commission.
Megan explained that Stained Glass conservators have to be part craftswoman, artist, historian and super-sleuth, particularly the latter when ancient windows are very badly damaged and as much original information as possible needs to be tracked down in order to restore it. Constant research is required in finding out about the windows’ origin and inspiration, its donor, the featured people’s history and Coats of Arms, and the techniques used back in that day.
It can be a very physical job too, with a lot of time spent up high on ladders or scaffolding, surrounded by stone dust and pigeon poo! There are also dangers from working with lead and Megan currently has to go for a blood test every 12 months. She is a very careful conservator, using glasses, masks, extraction, and head and hair coverings, but the rules regarding lead levels may well become more restrictive for women, which would have a very negative impact on women’s jobs in the industry, and currently there are many.
So, what is stained glass? It is essentially glass cut to the required shape, which is then painted. There are many different recipes for the ‘paints’ which come from many metals & pigments, and which change colour in the furnace. These are then leaded, the lead having an H -shaped profile for the glass to fit into, and cemented, before being installed as a panel or window.
It is a very ancient craft, with the first Anglo Saxon examples going back to the 7th Century. The earliest window made using the silver stain technique, where the back of the glass is painted silver, dates from 1307-1310, is the St Peter de Dene window in York Minster. Sadly, after the Reformation the craft went into decline and was nearly lost. But in the 1770’s an artist called Lillian Peckitt revived it in York, setting up her own studio and recreating paint, stain and enamel recipes to use. She also invented an engraving wheel which allowed her to add fine details, putting York on the map as the centre for Stained Glass.
Through history window design changed as fashion and technology changed, the Victorians loved a bible scene and bright colours and the industrial revolution bought huge demand and ready-made window borders. In the 20th Century, Flash Glass was invented and acid etching, which allowed for very beautiful drawings but was sadly lethal to the artist. And today a damaged window can be recreated digitally to show how the window would look before restoration.
There was so much more to Megan’s talk and to Stained Glass than we could ever have thought, I’ve had to leave so much out!
With huge thanks to Megan for a fascinating and very illuminating evening! www.silverbirchstainedglass.co.uk
