Beverley Minster, Beverley, East Yorkshire. Scientific Examination of the Window Glass
Author(s): David Dungworth, Helen Bower, Alison Gilchrist, Roger Wilkes
This report describes the scientific investigation of stained window glass from Beverley Minster, Yorkshire. The window glass comes from two panels in the west window produced by the John Hardman Company in 1859 and 1865. The glass has undergone conservation treatment at the York Glazier’s Trust to deal with several aspects of deterioration, including the degradation of the paint. The chemical analysis of the window glass shows that several different types of glass were used including soda-lime-silica and flint (potassium-lead-silicate) glass. In addition, some of the glass appears to have been made by mixing flint and soda glass (or perhaps just the raw materials for each glass type). Much of the glass displays a chemical complexity which does not seem to be strictly necessary but may reflect the extraordinary lengths that 19th-century glassmakers were forced to go to achieve glass for the Gothic revival. The range of metal oxides detected correlates closely with the colours of the finished glass and agrees with practice described in contemporary texts. The paint shows extensive degradation and in some cases the paint has completely corroded leaving only corrosion products. The chemical composition of the surviving paint is complex and offers no immediately obvious explanation why it has degraded.
- Report Number:
- 25/2010
- Series:
- Research Department Reports
- Pages:
- 24
- Keywords:
- Glass Post Medieval
