Stained glass has been around for as long as any of us can remember, that’s because it’s been around since the 7th century, really gaining popularity in the 12th and 13th century. Since then, it has been used in some of the most iconic buildings, usually places of worship, or castles, the use of stained glass was intended to enhance and elevate the appearance of buildings. There are some further interesting facts that you might be surprised to learn about;
- As part of the 1547 Injunctions against Images, many stained-glass windows were smashed and destroyed during the English Reformation. In fact, all church images were ordered to be removed. More stained glass would have survived if it hadn’t been for this period in history.
- The term “stained glass” refers to the silver stain that is usually applied to the side of the glass that faces the outside. The stain turns a yellowy-gold colour when the glass is fired.
- York Minister houses more than half of England’s stain glass from the Medieval period. The Great East Window is said to be Europe’s “largest Medieval stained-glass window. Recently, a five-year, £20 million restoration project to improve York Minister and its windows came to an end.
- The cleaning process of stained-glass windows is really important, typically, dirt, soot, and carbon deposits (from candle burning) can reduce the brilliance of coloured glass over time, so you’ll need to use the correct products, an Internet search for leadlight in Sydney will provide you with some useful information and a contact to help you.
- Stained glass was once installed in Catholic churches as a way of telling Bible stories through images rather than text. This was done solely for the benefit of churchgoers, many of whom were illiterate.
- Metallic oxide powders are added to molten glass to create coloured glass. Cobalt produces blue, copper oxide produces green, gold was traditionally used to produce red, and manganese produces a pleasing shade of purple.
A wealth of history
As you can see there is a wealth of history behind stained glass or, coloured windows but they don’t have to be a thing of the past, if you are renovating or building a property in the future, consider how stained glass could make a real difference to the looks of your property externally and the feel inside. The coloured glass changed the colour of sunlight beams coming in and looks really atmospheric
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