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A Brief History of Stained Glass....
Glass can be traced back to Mesopotamia (the area we now call Iraq and part of Syria) and from ancient Egypt. Probably discovered by mistake (from slag in metal working, or faience in pottery). We know that early glass found in Egypt was used in the main for items such as beads and jewellery making and that the arrival of the Roman Empire saw glass-making technology develop. The Romans took glass back to Rome and introduced new methods of production, as well as finding new uses, they also developed technology. This included making large sheets of glass and that a bubble could be created, if you use a metal pipe to blow into some molten glass. Upon cooling you have items such as bottles and vases - how very useful! As the empire spread, glass also expanded north to Venice and then to Germany and France, creating new centres of excellence.
A note on Venice and Murano;
Venice became particularly important for the development of fine quality glass due to the plentiful supply of local quartz pebbles made of pure silica. So important was the glass trade to the Republic of Venice (Italy was made up of several republics at this time), that glass makers where not allowed to leave the Republic. However some left to set up shop in France, Germany and England.
Fearing a serious fire would destroy the cities wooden buildings, the Venetian government ordered the glass makers out of the city to the Island of Murano in 1291, where Murano remains one of the great centres of glass making.
Back to the history.....
As the popularity of glass grew, so did the idea of painting the glass with a ‘stain’, giving it colours for the first time. Then, it was found that oxides used to make the stain could be added to the molten glass. Now, the exact time this happened is unknown, but it was probably 10th century and probably the French who realised that adding the oxides and minerals to the molten glass results in light waves being refracted though the glass to provide the colours.
With this, stained glass as we know it was born (fine detail such as faces was painted and fired onto the glass)
  Above: Two Windows from Canterbury Cathedral. Left showing Becket's murder at the hand of the King's Knights. On the right Becket the ArchbishopSo who used this stained glass?......
Stained Glass was very expensive, so its use was regarded a status symbol and was soon adopted a very wealthy church as a means of setting out Biblical images to tell stories to the uneducated, illiterate poor and by the wealthy landowners in their houses. Such windows can be seen in many local churches, but we often think of those in the great cathedrals such as Chartres (below) and Canterbury (above).Above left : The Great Rose Window at Chartres (France).
Above middle and middle right : One of five red windows at Chartres (10th Century) Above right : St Thomas window at ChartresThe not-so-good times.....
In England, there are two major events that saw the destruction of many medieval stained glass windows;
~ Dissolution of the monasteries
As every schoolboy knows, Henry VIII had one or two marriage issues and after a little disagreement with the Pope, the King established a separate church in England (the Church of England - very original with the name1). The Act of Supremacy was passed by Parliament in 1534, making Henry the Supreme Head of the Church in England. While this allowed the King to marry Ann Boleyn, it also allowed the King to acquire some of the monastic wealth and in 1534 Parliament authorised Thomas Cromwell to tour Abbeys and compile a report of said wealth. Cromwell revealed financial.... and sexual impropriety, giving Henry the ammunition he needed to make a move. All monasteries with an income of under £200 per annum (about 300) where dissolved. Monasteries were torn apart for anything that could be sold. Lead from the roof, slate, even King Alfred’s tomb was raided and smashed. Sadly, many irreplaceable Stained Glass windows also fell victim, lost to the world forever.Below : Two that Henry didn't get - left a window at Lacock Abbey (Wilts) and right Bath Abbey  ~ The Puritans, Cromwell and the Civil War (yes we have had one!)
James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603. As King of England and Scotland, he allowed the Scots to have separate laws and a separate church. This was fine, until 1638, when the Church of Scotland refused Charles I’s appointment of certain Bishops in Scotland. As the issue escalated Charles (probably feeling that his right as King was in question) convened a Parliament (English) in order to raise taxes to fight the rebellious Scots. Parliament refused to help, unless the King made assurances towards Parliamentary reform. Charles (egged on by his Catholic wife Henrietta-Maria) made a stand against Parliament and in 1642 civil war broke out – the King lost and The Commonwealth was born. The Puritans were not at all keen on the opulence (they would say forced on them) in their Churches and just like Henry they started the destruction of "Popish pomp". Cromwell set about the removal and destruction of what he saw as Catholic trinkets, including gold and silver goblets, crosses and....yes - ornate windows. So bad was the destruction by the Puritans that in one Gloucestershire village, the inhabitants dismantled and buried a church window to keep it safe. The window below (left) is at Wells Cathedral (Somerset) and needed great repair after it was attacked by Cromwell's men.   Above right : Also from Wells Cathedral (Somerset) and shows Jesus on the cross. This window probably dates from around 1310 to 1320. Note the cross is green to depict the 'tree of life'.I hope that was a little informative......More to come soon on periods such as Victorian and Edwardian stained glass and of course on people such as Tiffany and William Morris
Lawrence of Bath
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