Belmont Chapel, Newport, RI

Belmont Chapel @belmontchapelfoundation in Newport, RI, has undergone a stunning restoration after years of vandalism and disrepair. In 2023, they engaged us to create four replicas of their lost angel windows. All we had to work with were the few remaining shards from the originals, which included broken pieces of a face, wings, cross pieces and a small portion of the original blue background. When we look now at the “before” and “after”, it seems so straightforward. But there was so much that we learned in the process.

Each aspect of these windows required study and consideration, from glass matching to painting style, to releading them in a manner that honored the originals.

With the very limited amount of reference, we did a lot of testing; background washes, line weights, pigment colors and more. If you’ve ever painted on glass, you know it’s a finicky and fragile process — adding and removing pigment to a surface that’s not really conducive to it. Starting with the the paper sketches we did beforehand. we were able to produce faces that are very close to the original painting style. 

The final four were painted on clear glass circles and then fired in our kiln. Afterwards, they were plated with etched glass circles to create a diffused and ethereal look in transmitted light, and to keep the painted elements from becoming lost in reflected light. 

The panels have two layers of glass throughout, to match the original. Before leading, the matching layers are wrapped in copper foil tape to block putty from getting between the layers in the course of the cementing process.

On July 9th, we traveled to the chapel to install the windows. The angels had been completed and sitting in our shop for weeks, so we’d gotten used to enjoying them… But seeing them in their rightful place was a whole different experience. 

They sit in a darker portion of the chapel, creating an intense effect when light beams through them. The angels’ faces change slightly based on the angle you’re viewing from, and the blue of the background can look green based on the amount of vegetation outside. The border glass is vibrant and looks great next to the new mahogany sashes. We were thrilled and relieved to see it all come together so beautifully.

We’re beyond proud of the work, especially given that each one of us contributed in a meaningful way. Dennis was the lead and coordinated many of the details, in addition to painting the faces. Patrick painted the wings. Heather painted the Maltese Cross pieces in the background. Tom and Dennis tackled the leading and Tracy brought it home by integrating the panels and prepping them for installation. 

We fretted every detail along the way. But, because of that, we were able to recreate them faithfully and be part of the remarkable restoration of this beautiful place. Many thanks to the Belmont Chapel foundation for engaging us in this project!

Dickson Chapel, Greenlawn Cemetery, Salem MA

In Spring of 2024, we completed an exciting project for Dickson Memorial Chapel. This important architectural landmark is located in the middle of the Greenlawn Cemetery, a beautiful cemetery in Salem, MA, designed by Frederick Law Olmstead.

The chapel was gifted to the City in 1894 in honor of Georgia Dickson, by her husband and has exquisite detail throughout. It once had an impressive glass arboretum that attached to the side of the chapel and housed a year-round garden. The structure has been lost and the building has suffered from periods of deferred maintenance over the years. Between that and the occasional acts of vandalism, the windows were definitely in need of attention by the time we got started. For reference, the yellow tape in the image below shows which pieces needed to be repaired or replaced.

Thanks to the efforts of Patti Kelleher, Salem’s Preservation Planner, and Christine Lutts from the Friends of Greenlawn, funds were secured in 2023 to restore the majority of the windows. (The Rose window had been restored prior to this phase.) 

The originals were designed by Phipps, Slocum & Co. from Boston. The individual panels range from complex multifoils to uniquely-shaped vents and tracery. The blues and ambers throughout the glass give the inside of the chapel a warm, yet somber feel. 

The specifications for the restoration were detailed by Julie Sloan, a leading stained glass restoration consultant. They follow the current best thinking in the field of stained glass preservation, and we were thrilled to find that our own studio processes are right in line with them. The scope of our work included removal, board up, wood/metal frame restoration, full restoration of nearly all the stained glass panels, installation of restored panels and installation of custom-cut, vented, laminated protective glass.

Throughout the process, careful documentation was required per the specs. This ensured that we capture this very important chapter in the windows’ history.  A comprehensive archive of the effort was created and delivered to the City. 

For us, the project was a great one. It was an enormous amount of work, but the payoff was huge. Special thanks to Patti Kelleher, the City of Salem, MA, the Greenlawn grounds crew, Christine Lutts, The Friends of Greenlawn, and the rest of the Greenlawn Community.

Northeast Harbor, ME

This was one of our ‘23-’24 winter projects. We did a full restoration of five 8’ tall doors as well as 10 very large casement windows from a home in Northeast Harbor, ME. The home is situated on a site that’s lovely, but very exposed, which means the windows naturally require more maintenance. 

The diamonds were ready to be completely releaded. That means all the panels are disassembled, cleaned and put back together again. The majority were built with a basic flat lead, but for a portion of them, we needed a colonial style lead profile that we couldn’t source. Instead, we worked with DHD Metals to have a new dye made based on pieces of the original. They did an excellent job creating a match for us.

In the studio, Patrick devised a system wherein he pre-cut the lead came to various lengths. This gave us a great deal of efficiency once we went to build the large number of windows.  As you can imagine, these panels are heavy and require a great deal of support. (Flipping the massive doors during the soldering process was no easy task!) New bars were installed on all the panels and doors, and new interlocking weatherstripping from our colleagues at Window Restoration Supply matched the original nicely. 

The homeowners have worked with E.L. Shea for many years to maintain the woodwork, and as a result, the sashes and doors were in very good condition. We did just a light restoration before integrating the leaded panels. This included stripping some of the finish on the interior due to dogs scratching through the clear coat over the years. Tracy stained and finished it to match the original perfectly.

We were able to complete the work and install the windows just before Memorial Day — in time for the home to be opened up for the summer season. 

Special thanks to Nate and the rest of the crew from E.L. Shea for helping us hang and tweak the doors. They were all closing perfectly by the time we left. We look forward to Phase 2 over the winter of 2024. 

FIRST CHURCH, NORTH TRANSEPT

Continuing on from last year’s restoration of the South Transept, this year we tackled the North.

Equally impressive in scale and beauty, it was a pleasure to get lost in the fantastic details in the painting and glass selection. From the masterful silver stained flames to the subtle ripples in the water around a moving oar, we never tired of looking at these windows. 

Having gone through the process with the South side last year, we had all of our systems in place to carefully and successfully execute the removal, down to numbering each support bar that was custom bent around faces, hands and beards. Then on to the studio for extensive documentation of each panel and meticulous disassembly. 

As with the South Transept, there were very few broken pieces of glass. Knowing that the window will be protected with new vented laminated glass, the small number of repairs were done with silicone edge-gluing or copper foil. Repairs complete, we went on to the rebuild, relying on our documentation to ensure that we followed the original leading scheme as closely as possible.  

Soldering, puttying, final cleaning and tie wires each followed in turn until we were ready to reinstall this summer. Now all 33 panels are in place and looking stunning. It cannot be overstated how honored we are to have been entrusted with this work and how grateful we are to have had such lovely partners to work with at First Church.

Woodstock Masonic Lodge, VT

The Masonic Temple in Woodstock, VT is housed in the former Christian Church, built in 1826. The building was presented to Woodstock Lodge No.31, F & A M by the Christian Church Society in 1949, along with it’s collection of beautiful stained glass windows. We were contacted to assess the windows, with particular concern for the two circular panels facing the street. 

With their beautiful, bright colors and delicate design, it was clear to see that both windows were in need of repair. They were both severely deflected - one to the point that the center jewel was close to falling out of the window. The lead matrix was fatigued and cracking and the deflection caused many pieces of glass to break.

At about 42’ across in their wooden sashes, these windows fit perfectly on our studio work benches as we began the process of bringing them back to life.  

Glass matching was a challenge on these beauties, so we opted to retain as much original glass as possible with a lot of copper foil and through-lead repairs. 

The intricate lead work and stunning colors made for a challenging and thoroughly enjoyable build. The restored windows are now glazed into their refurbished sashes and we are excited to return them to the charming town center later this fall.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal, Pittsfield, NH

St. Stephen’s Parish in Pittsfield, N.H., with its strong community and rich history, is home to a stunning rendition of The Good Samaritan, made by Connick Studios in Boston. As with most of Connick’s windows, it’s filled with colorful glass that’s heavily painted, and with bold lines and organic shapes. In the fall of 2022, we conducted a full restoration of the window and the vent that sits below.

We can’t overstate the importance of good upfront documentation on a project like this. With so many similar shapes in use, the details in our rubbings, along with the close-ups we captured through the camera, were critical to helping us rebuild the window exactly as it was.

We found something uncommon for a Connick of this era: In the photos below, you’ll see that the plates are yellow flashed glass, that have been acid-etched, in order to transition form yellow to clear. The effect is so subtle, that if we hadn’t had them taken apart, we likely wouldn’t have noticed it. In order to preserve this effect, we wrapped the plated areas with copper foil, keeping dirt and debris from getting between the layers of glass. 

Throughout the window, there are sweet little details painted into the shadows. The beauty of restoring this window piece-by-piece is that we got to see all of them. 

It was an honor to play a part in the preservation of this beautiful window, and we’re grateful to the St. Stephens congregation for choosing us to do the work.

Nichols Memorial Library, Kingston, NH

The Nichols Library is on the National Register of Historic Places. With its beautiful stone exterior and thoughtful details throughout, it’s easy to understand why the town is prioritizing its preservation. It’s an important part of Kingston’s history and recently celebrated its 125th anniversary.

We’ve been working with the Heritage Commisssion for a long time to line up approvals and funding for the restoration of these windows. The delicate lead holding it together was ready for replacement. There were countless broken pieces to be repaired or replaced. On top of that, they were incredibly dirty on the interiors from years of soot buildup.

In early 2022, we did a single window, and in early 2023, returned to take out the remaining 10. We completed the restoration and reinstalled them this Spring.

Arched Maine Transom and Sidelites

Here’s a quick restoration we did last Spring for Great Falls Construction in Brunswick, Maine. The arched transom had all of its lead medallions intact, but the window was caving in and the glass was in danger of breaking or falling out.

In the course of releading these, we found a couple of areas where we could provide additional support to the windows without changing the design. The deflection that happened in the transom, along the middle curves, was likely due to the fact that there was one continuous piece of lead on the curve. By breaking that up and building some of the lines from top to bottom, we’ve added to the overall stability and can hopefully avoid some of the bowing in the future 

The sidelites are tall and narrow, continuing the lines of the transom to the sides in an elegant way. But the manner in which they were originally built left them vulnerable to sagging. Additionally, the lead was cracked at the solder joints. By adding three support bars to the panels, that slot directly into the sash, we were able to redistribute most of the weight away from the panel itself.

With the releading complete, we reattached the original medallions and integrated the panels into their refurbished and primed sashes. The windows are now complete and have been reinstalled.

First Church Rose Window, Concord, NH

With so much to look at on the inside of First Church, you could almost miss the Rose window if you weren’t careful. It sits high above the choir loft at the back of the church and casts a beautiful red, gold and green light on the seats below.

Twelve petals surround the circular center panel to create the rose. The woodwork that surrounds it is impressive in both size and detail. We were grateful to be able to remove and install the panels from the inside, which gave us a great look at everything up close.

Once we had them back in the studio, we worked through them quickly. Thankfully, there were very few broken pieces and very few surprises. We were able to get them releaded and back in place, and secured with no issues.

ST. Catherine’s, Manchester, NH

We were honored when St. Catherine’s approached us to design and build a new window to match the rest of their sanctuary windows. The originals were designed by O’Duggan studios in Boston, and each depicts a different story from the Bible. Father Chris chose the story of Jesus washing Peter’s feet, and Dennis started sketching from there.

The biggest challenge was ensuring that the new window matched the old. We did multiple iterations of the design, playing with the number of pieces, the size of the figures and the background elements. From there, we started looking at colors, color balance, contrast and focus. We lined up glass samples in our studio to make the first choices. And then brought them to the church to make the final selection.

The figures stretch across two-panels, and are painted in a simple style, against a backdrop of bright colors and shapes. The panels are further surrounded by large blocks of (stunningly beautiful) blue and red glass, handmade to this day by Lambert’s glass in Germany.

Our trial and error paid off, and the new window fits right in with the old. Kudos to Dennis for his attention to detail throughout. The client is thrilled and so are we.

First Church, South Transept

On each side of the Nave at the First Church of Christ Scientist in Concord, there are two large and beautiful transept windows. We began the restoration of the South side this Spring. With over 30 individual panels and tracery elements in each window, this phase is the largest window restoration in the church to date.

The windows were originally designed and fabricated by the John Hardiman studio of Birmingham, England. They are even more stunning in person than images can relay. There are multiple figures depicted throughout but Jesus is the main character in each of the four scenes. According to records, Mary Baker Eddy visited the church just once after its completion with the express purpose of seeing them. It’s said that she sat for a whole hour just looking at them. We can attest to their beauty, and feel fortunate to have seen their artistry up close — in a way that no one has for a long time. One of our favorite panels is the “Healing of the Lepers”. Seeing figures from 100+ years ago, depicted wearing masks, is enough to give you goosebumps.

We were fortunate to have a somewhat stress-free removal, given the age and the brittle condition of the lead. Once back in our studio, we continued the documentation process. There were more flanges than normal due to the variations in glass thickness. But the original lead was completely failing and the windows came apart easily. In the cleaning process, we removed a lot of soot and the glass has brightened up a fair amount.

At this point, we are most of the way through their restoration. Once the church has installed a new protective glazing solution, we’ll be back there to get the windows installed.

Morgan Moving, Manchester, NH

Morgan Moving Company’s front door panel had been the entry to the business for years. They reached out to us after it was destroyed by vandals. There wasn’t much glass to salvage by the time we got to it. Only the border bevels were intact.

Thankfully there was enough of the lead structure for Matt to make a template from. We had the black and clear replacement glass on hand and were able to cut new pieces to fit. They now have what is essentially a new window, but you’d be hard pressed to tell the replacement from the original.

It was a quick project for us, but hugely rewarding to see something so broken become whole again.

First Church, Clerestory and Nave

We’re a bit overdue, but we thought we’d do a look back at our work for First Church Christ Scientist in Concord, NH from throughout 2021. In Spring, we began with the restoration of 30 clerestory panels, and in Summer got to work on the windows that line the Nave and Narthex.

The removal of the Clerestory windows proved to be challenging, starting with the fact that they’re 50 feet in the air. Without the benefit of interior staging, we removed the windows from the exterior using a lift, carefully transporting them to ground and back to our studio. From there, we got right to work disassembling, cleaning and preparing them to be rebuilt.

The windows are all the same basic design. so once we got to releading them, our task was a lot more straightforward. To match the original, we worked with a fairly wide, flat lead profile and opted to “tuck” the lead at the joints, adding strength to the lead structure. From there, they were puttied, cleaned and readied for reinstallation.

Once installed, we moved on to the removal of the Nave and Narthex windows. The Nave windows are a cluster of four panels; three lancets topped by a circle, and they share colors and design elements. They needed a fair amount of glass repairs , including a mix of copper foil, tinted conservation grade silicone and epoxy. Some pieces were beyond repair and needed to be replicated altogether. But, thanks to Dennis’ painting and firing skills, the replacement pieces are indistinguishable from the originals.

We completed the reinstallation just before Thanksgiving, and removed the next batch from the East and West elevations. We’ve been working on them over the winter and plan to reinstall them in April. This year, we’ll be working on the large and beautiful transept windows that flank the North and South sides. Stay tuned — these are gorgeous windows and we’ll be sure to get some pictures posted.

Claremont, NH Opera House

The details are incredible throughout the building, down to the design of the original seating chart that hangs in the Women’s Lounge. Our first phase included the restoration of 19 small panels, but all of the windows in the building have come of age and in need of repair.. 

Getting the windows out was a challenge. The only removable stops were the length of the large arches, and those were nailed with about 35 nails each. (Thanks, turn of the century carpenter!!) Due to what turned out to be some very strange construction, the remaining interior woodwork had to be removed to get the panels out. 

Back at the shop, we got to work on the documentation, disassembly and cleaning of the windows. It’s a dirty task, but beyond rewarding when you are back to clean glass. There was quite a bit of broken glass, but we found a really good match for the clear texture. We even had some old solarized glass to match some of the light purple. The replacement glass is indistinguishable from the original. 

Each panel was fully releaded and the sashes restored, before the panels were reglazed into them.

From there we returned them to Claremont and enjoyed a comparatively smooth installation, (now that we’d solved a lot of problems from the removal.) We hope to start Phase 2 in 2022. If you’re ever in the area, make sure to get a look at them. It’s a fantastic building.

Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Bar

Have you been yet? Originally built as a YMCA, this building has recently been overhauled and turned into a world class jazz club. We got to see the “before” on an early site visit, when there were still small apartments and a basketball court. But the work they’ve done to transform the space is exemplary.

Our part included the restoration of the (massive) 22’ tall operable sashes as well as the original YMCA insignia stained glass panels in the rear of the building.

We also rebuilt the sashes and panels located in the mezzanine level, recognizable now thanks the purple lights that illuminate them from behind. These are now all lit from behind by lightboxes because the original exterior has been bricked over.

Many thanks to Auger Building Co. and to everyone at Jimmy’s for including us in this amazing local project. It’s a great space and a total win for Portsmouth.