News and events

I have been working on a short project with Christian Ryan at Swansea College of Art on the collections at the college and elsewhere in Wales. This will help to make the collections in Swansea more visible online in the future.

In April I designed a book with colleagues at the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies for the Curious Travellers project. This accompanies an exhibition, which I also designed the information panels for, at Greenfield Valley Heritage Park near Holywell. I recently set up a web page for Whitford church as part of a strategy to make it into a Heritage Hub for the area.

I recently gave the Keynote lecture for the 'Trena Cox: Reflections 100' symposium at Chester Cathedral in October 2024. The following day I contributed to the ICON Stained Glass conference in the city, helping to lead a walking tour.

 

Capturing the Moment Symposium, Swansea

A day symposium at Swansea College of Art was held on 25 November 2023 to reflect on the stained glass archives in Swansea College of Art and elsewhere in Wales. Speakers included Dr Jasmine Allen (Stained Glass Museum, Ely), Dr Reinhard Köpf (Heritage Department, Mönchengladbach) and some of the major figures in British architectural stained glass artists who trained or taught on the Stained Glass course in Swansea.

Alexander Beleschenko, Amber Hiscott and Rodney Bender recalled their time in Swansea College of Art in a panel discussion, as well as the German artists who were invited over to Swansea by Tim Lewis, head of the stained glass course from 1972 until 1995.

A visit to see the stained glass at Coychurch Crematorium took place on the following day, when Roger Hayman, Rodney Bender, Alex Beleschenko and Christian Ryan spoke about their work for the crematorium. I will be producing a book about the stained glass at Coychurch Crematorium in 2024.

 

Saints and Stained Glass for the Ports, Past and Present project

In the closing months of the Ports, Past and Present project I published books on stained glass in two of the port towns that were the focus of the project.

Stained Glass in Fishguard was produced in association with St Mary’s in Fishguard and includes stained glass from churches in the town, a panel in the town library, and stained glass from churches in Goodwick and Manorowen. Copies are available from the church or from Sulien Books.

A second book included stained glass from churches in Holyhead and from othr churches on Holy Island. It was launched with a walking tour of the windows on 1 July 2023, beginning at the Maritime Museum where two windows from St Seiriol’s, demolished in the 1990s, are now on display. More about these books can be found on the Stained Glass from Welsh Churches blog.

A series of heritage stories relating to stained glass and journeys of the saints across the Irish Sea are found as an online tour on the project website.

 

Welsh Saints from Welsh Churches

Welsh Saints from Welsh Churches is my first major book since Stained Glass from Welsh Churches was published in 2014. It illustrates the imagery of Welsh saints found in churches in Wales from the medieval period and up to the present day, revealing a wealth of imagery since the mid-nineteenth century that has not been studied before.

The book is illustrated in full colour throughout and takes a journey around Wales to cathedrals and churches large and small in city centres, quiet suburbs, towns, villages and lonely fields. Some are now closed, but at a time when communities are working hard to ensure that their churches remain open for worship and for visitors, the book is a timely reminder of the artistic treasures that can be found in places of worship in Wales.

 

 

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