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Next time you come into the Cathedral via the Swanston Street door, look up to your right and see the first of the restored 'west' windows. They are fresh and light and clearly-coloured. Then move further in and see the work that needs to be done on the other windows. The contrast is startling. Only now you really begin to grasp something of the incredible scale of the Cathedral's Restoration and Renewal Program.
Stained glass windows are built and strengthened by using a leadlight cement to bind the lead and the glass. This cement is made from calcium carbonate, plaster and boiled linseed oil. Over long periods of time the linseed oil dries out and the window loses its waterproof quality. Cavities can appear and windows can buckle. This has happened in several of the Cathedral’s windows. Daylight is clearly visible, for example, along the right hand side of the Great West window. Sometimes it is possible to carry out the necessary repairs with the window still in place. At other times it has to be very carefully removed and placed on a bench where the glass can be cleaned, cracked pieces replaced and new cement affixed. Missing glass is reproduced using the same techniques the old masters used. Our Cathedral windows were made by John Richard Clayton and Alfred Bell, draftsmen and designers who became partners in
Lay Canon Elizabeth Britten |
