From beginning to end, the project to replace a small but very important piece of some badly-repaired Margaret Rope stained-glass at Newport Catholic Church (see background story) had taken over a year, including six months working with a leading glass conservation company. Not the least of the problems came at the end: re-fitting and re-leading the new piece back into the 110-year old window (see story).

The task had been to replace an unsatisfactory repair, carried out a decade ago, to the damaged face in the Our Lady window in the church, and re-create an approximation to the original. (The Our Lady window is one of a series of five masterpieces which Margaret Rope designed and made for Newport Church in the 1910s).

Now was the final test. What would the public think of the end result?

Moment of truth

The congregation and clergy at Ss Peter & Paul Church were given time to comment on the changes. Happily for Arthur Rope, the project leader, and for Holy Well Glass of Somerset, the restorers, there was total enthusiasm for what had been done.
One member of the congregation said: “It really spoilt one’s experience of the church to have that horror grimacing down at you. It was actually quite uncomfortable. The replacement face is one hundred times better!”

Curiously, one problem for the restorers – the difference in the types of glass used by Marga a century ago and those of today – turned into a bonus. Modern glass has a certain luminosity to it – which gives the new face of Our Lady a pleasing glow.

The leading expert in the history of stained glass of this period, Peter Cormack, agreed: “I was very recently in touch with my friend Steve Clare MBE, and with some of his colleagues at Holy Well, and, after seeing photographs of the replacement head of Our Lady, I congratulated them on a really excellent job.
“In fact, I regard the project as a truly exemplary undertaking, in which technical and artistic skills were matched by thorough art-history research. These are, of course, essential elements of good practice in stained glass conservation (although all too often a rarity) – and Holy Well Glass is undoubtedly the leader in this field.”

Bolstered by such support, the Margaret Rope Appreciation Group put on an official unveiling for public & press on Nov 26th (2022), attended by the Dean of Shrewsbury Cathedral, Canon Christopher Matthews.
The county newspaper put the story on their front page (see pic right).

Appreciation

The achievement has created fresh interest in the five Margaret Rope windows at Newport. They were created by her in the first decade of her working life and show all the power and vibrancy of youth. They count among her masterpieces.
A research group from the National Stained Glass Museum will visit them in 2023, which may produce fresh information.

The Margaret Rope scholar, Roger Hall, has now also completed full commentaries explaining the stories and symbology within the five windows at Newport, as well as their history – and they are excellent reading for a full appreciation of what’s going on in these windows. (See Roger Hall’s Newport commentaries). These are constantly updated as new facts are uncovered.

To actually see the windows is a bit harder. Newport Church, like so many churches nowadays, is usually locked. However, should you wish to see the windows, appointments can be made with the church wardens and/or deacon.

The account of the restoration of the glass at Newport in 2022 has been split into three parts: Newport 1 (Setting Up the Project); Newport 2 (Restoring The Glass); Newport 3 (The Installation)

+
If you’d like to comment on this article, please use the Comments Box below