Just before the first Covid lockdown we were given the tender to restore the casement windows & lead lights at Thornbury Castle.
Site work began once restrictions were lifted & it was a mammoth of a job – one room alone had 32 leaded panels!!
Numerous windows needed to be removed & restored, with a great number of panels showing their age. The metal casements that house the opening leadlights were sanded, painted & renovated by our associate Simon Ward & the remade leaded panels fitted back in.
Some of these windows were also curved, with 9 individually curved panes of glass – which is pretty unusual to say the least. We created these by making metal moulds, cutting the panes to size & heating in our kiln. When heated the glass softens around the metal moulds & when cold can be removed & leaded up.
To make the actual lead lights we made wooden formers that were shaped exactly to the original curve & leaded the windows on top of these.
Thornbury Castle is back open to the public now.