York Residents’ Festival January 2023

The Stained Glass Centre at St Martin cum Gregory will be open for York Residents’ Festival on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 January 2023 between 10 am and 4 pm. A rare opportunity to visit one of York’s most beautiful ‘secret’ buildings and learn about the art and craft of stained glass. Our stained glass experts will be on hand for demonstrations and discussions.

Please join us in this historic Grade I listed building for family-friendly activities and stalls selling stained glass pieces and books on stained glass, art, architecture and history.

Carols by Candlelight, Sunday 11th December 2022

It’s that time of year again …. so please join us for Carols by Candlelight on Sunday 11th December!

The Stained Glass Centre will be open from 11am, with children’s craft activities and craft and book stalls for those last-minute gifts. At 5pm, the wonderful Acomb Community Choir will join us to sing Christmas classics and carols – with mince pies and mulled wine to help get you in the festive spirit!

Entry is free and everyone is welcome!

York Unlocked Weekend October 2022

The Stained Glass Centre will be open on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th October, from 10.30 am to 4.00 pm each day, as part of York Unlocked 2022.

Please join us in this historic Grade I listed building for demonstrations and discussions, craft and book stalls, family-friendly activities and refreshments.

We aim to foster public appreciation of the architecture of York by organising the opening of 60 buildings, and open spaces, of merit to the public free of charge. Our goal is to educate, engage and inspire. Find out more at https://york-unlocked.org.uk.

Heritage Open Days September 2022

The Stained Glass Centre at St Martin cum Gregory will be open for Heritage Open Days on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September 2022 between 10.30 am and 4.30 pm. A rare opportunity to visit one of York’s most beautiful ‘secret’ buildings and learn about the art and craft of stained glass.

Stained glass experts will be on hand for demonstrations and discussions. There will be stalls selling stained glass pieces and books on stained glass, art, architecture and history.

Please join us in this historic Grade I listed building for family-friendly activities and refreshments.

York Residents Festival January 2022

The Stained Glass Centre at St Martin cum Gregory will be open for York Residents’ Festival on Saturday 29 January 2022 between 10 am and 4 pm. A rare opportunity to visit one of York’s most beautiful ‘secret’ buildings and learn about the art and craft of stained glass. Our stained glass experts will be on hand for demonstrations and discussions.

Please join us in this historic Grade I listed building for family-friendly activities and stalls selling stained glass pieces and books on stained glass, art, architecture and history.

Heritage Open Days 2021

The Stained Glass Centre at St Martin cum Gregory will be open for Heritage Open Days on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 September 2021 between 10.30 am and 4.30 pm. A rare opportunity to visit one of York’s most beautiful ‘secret’ buildings and learn about the art and craft of stained glass.

Stained glass experts will be on hand for demonstrations and discussions, with tours of the Centre at 1.30pm on Saturday and 11.30 am and 1.30pm on Sunday. There will be stalls selling stained glass pieces and books on stained glass, art, architecture and history.

Please join us in this historic Grade I listed building for family-friendly activities, including an opportunity to try your hand at glass painting.

Carols by Candlelight on Sunday 16th December 2018

Join us for Carols by Candlelight on Sunday 16th December at 3pm!

Acomb Community Choir will be hosting carols at the Stained Glass Centre, with special guests Tim Pheby and To the Blue.

There will be a raffle and kids activities, with mince pies and mulled wine will help to get you in the festive spirit!

Entry is free and everyone is welcome!

Autumn Lecture 2018

Our Autumn Lecture will be given by Katie Harrison, WRoCAH-funded Doctoral Student at the University of York, on the Life of St. Cuthbert Window at York Minster. The lecture will be held on Thursday 15th November at 6.30pm.

Christmas Carols at the Stained Glass Centre, 16 December 2017

It’s that time of year again… and we will be ushering in the festive season with our now traditional carol singing and ringing. The Acomb Community Choir and St Wilfrid’s Handbell Ringers will be performing from 4 pm onwards, and mince pies and mulled wine will be served. Entry is free and all are welcome!

Ledgerstones: A Workshop

7th October 2017, 10.30am – 4pm

The Stained Glass Centre will be the venue for a ledgerstone study day: learn how to record ledgerstones for the Ledgerstone Survey of England and Wales (LSEW). The LSEW and the Churches Conservation Trust will be delivering this study day at the Stained Glass Centre.

Autumn lecture 2017: Thursday 12th October

The Oak, the Vine and the Lily; the design and creation of the Jesse window for St Mary’s Priory Church, Abergavenny

Helen Whittaker MA FMGP, Stained Glass Artist and Sculptor

Art historian Sarah Brown will introduce the intriguing iconography of the Jesse tree, with historical examples. Stained glass artist Helen Whittaker will follow this with her modern-day Jesse window in Wales, describing her inspirations and creative practice.

Harold Gosney Retrospective Exhibition, September – October 2017

This year at the Stained Glass Centre, we are delighted and honoured to be hosting a retrospective exhibition of the works of Harold Gosney. More details here

Summer Open Days 2017

This summer we’ll be opening our doors to the public for a number of weekends over the summer. Come and visit our splendid building, meet some of our volunteers and learn about the historic stained glass. Details of the days we’ll be open are forthcoming so watch this space!

The Stained Glass Centre 2017 Lecture Series

Spring lecture: Thursday 18th May

York Minster’s ‘Sweet posy’: The Rose Window past, present and future

Celeste Flower

Christmas Craft Fair and Carols, 17th December 2016

The Stained Glass Centre will be hosting a Christmas Craft Fair followed by Carols on Saturday 17^th December.

Join us for festive crafts, gifts and refreshments from 10:30am – 3:30pm. As well as a range of craft stalls we will have kids’ craft activities and a large sale of books on stained glass and York.

Then at 5:00pm, we will gather again for mince pies and mulled wine, followed by carols with David Hull and his team of hand-bell ringers to get us all in the Christmas spirit!

We hope you can join us!

Autumn Lecture, Thursday 13th October 2016

 ‘I know my geese are not all swans – The WA Ismay Collection of Studio Pottery’

Helen Walsh, York Museums Trust

‘Swimming Geese’ by William Staite Murray (c) York Museums Trust

Heritage Open Days 2016

Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September, 10am – 3pm

28th August 2016: Soapbox Challenge Micklegate Run!

The Stained Glass Centre will be hosting some exciting activities with Vespertine York on the Sunday of the bank holiday weekend. Micklegate will be reinvented for a soapbox run, where local teams will race their own motor-less vehicle carts as part of a community celebration. Vespertine York will be hosting a trail of DIY inspired arts activities, and at The Stained Glass Centre this will include an interactive audio installation, called Sonolope, in which movements can be translated into soundscapes and remixed!

We’ll be open from 11am – 7pm, and the Sonolope installation will start at around 2.30pm. This event is free and organised in conjunction with the York Churches Partnership and Micklegate Business Initiative.

Find out more about the Micklegate Soapbox Run by clicking here

Find out more about the initiative being run by Vespertine York by clicking here

Summer Open Days 2016

During the summer months volunteers open the Stained Glass Centre to allow visitors to experience this magnificent building and its stained glass. This year we’ll be open from 10am – 4pm on Saturdays, and 11am-3pm on Sundays. We’ll be open on the following days:

For more information, please email [email protected]

29th July 2016: ‘On Moss, On Stone’ Gig

We’ll be hosting another music event on Friday 29th July. AM Grave, Grouphums, Jakoby, Basilica Hands and Ash Sagar, some of whom supported the very successful gig by Bambooman last October at The Stained Glass Centre, will be playing. They’ll be performing their music which incorporates field recordings and found sounds to create atmospheric and ambient music, with accompanying visuals by Grim Ly.

7 – 11pm, tickets are £5 and can be bought on the door, or in advance at Earworm Records and Bison Coffee.

Summer Music Afternoon: 10th July, 2016

Join us at the Stained Glass Centre for our Summer Music Afternoon on 10th July!

Join us from 1:30pm for a Cream Tea and listen to the wonderful ADAM Festival Community Choir, who have given fabulous performances at our Carol concerts at the SGC for the past two years! Also joining us this year will be the wonderful lutesinger Helen Atkinson which is sure to be a treat and Tim Pheby, a talented singer/songwriter.

We’ll have kids activities, a book sale and one of our famous raffles! Hopefully we’ll have some sunshine too and you can experience our lovely churchyard.
Tickets for this are £6 for adults, £4.50 for Friends, and additional offers for adults bringing children. Tickets available on the door, or on our Eventbrite page!

Spring Lecture: Thursday 26th May 2016

‘A Holy Neighbourhood? Rethinking the relationship between Richard Scrope and the Church of St Martin in Micklegate’

Sarah Rees Jones, University of York

Micklegate in 1677 – note St Martin cum Gregory with its spire

Sarah Rees Jones is Professor of Medieval History at the University of York.

Residents’ Festival 2016

10:00am – 4:00pm, Saturday 30th January

Join us on Saturday 30th January for family-friendly activities, an exhibition and craft stalls in this breathtaking Grade 1 building, which contains historic stained glass and fascinating graffiti.

There will be the chance to have a go at designing a window or painting on glass. Stained glass experts will be on hand for demonstrations and discussions, with regular tours of the Centre. There will be a large book sale, with a wide range of books on stained glass, art, architecture and history.

You can also take the opportunity to sit back and enjoy the atmosphere of this stunning Grade I listed building with a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

For more information please contact [email protected].

Christmas Craft Fair & Carols on Saturday 19^th December

Join us for festive crafts, gifts and refreshments from 11:00am – 3:30pm. As well as a range of craft stalls we will have festive kids craft activities, a large sale of books on stained glass, York, art and architecture, and the chance to see our recent exhibition ‘John Ward Knowles: Antiquary, Restorer, Artist’.

At 5:00pm, we will gather again for mince pies and mulled wine, followed by carols with the Acomb Community Choir from 5:30pm
to get us all in the Christmas spirit!

We hope you can join us!

Autumn lecture: Thursday 29th October 2015

The Harry Stammers School of Glass-painting in York

Ann Sotheran FMGP, Stained Glass Artist

Stained glass artists Harry Stammers and Harry Harvey both learned their craft before the second World War, working in what was to all intents and purposes a style virtually unchanged since the heyday of Victorian and Edwardian stained glass.  This lecture will look at the work of both men from the time they began to work in York in 1947 until the ends of each career.  Taken in chronological order, it is possible to appreciate the developments in style and elaboration of techniques employed by both artists during the course of producing truly impressive bodies of work.

All lectures will take place at St Martin cum Gregory at 7.30 pm unless otherwise stated. Tickets are £6 / £5 concessions / SGC Friends free and include refreshments, available from 7 pm.

Heritage Open Days 2015

10am – 3pm, Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th September

Following the success of last year’s Heritage Open Day, the Centre will be open over the whole weekend this year.

As well as providing the opportunity to visit one of York’s most beautiful secret buildings and learn about the art and craft of stained glass, this year the Stained Glass Centre will be presenting its new exhibition. ‘John Ward Knowles: Antiquary, Restorer, Artist’, will explore the life and legacy of one of York’s most famous Stained Glass artists, commentators and restorers.

Refreshments will be available and tours of the building will run throughout the weekend. There will also be a large book sale, with a wide range of books on stained glass, art, architecture and history.

2015 Walking Tours

Every summer, The Stained Glass Centre offers guided tours of churches in the centre of York, providing the opportunity to get a closer look at the wealth of medieval, Victorian and modern stained glass in this city.  Each tour will be led by our expert guides, beginning at 6.15 pm and lasting for around one and a half hours.

On 11 June 2015 we will be visiting St Michael le Belfrey and Holy Trinity Goodramgate, beginning at St Michael le Belfrey (High Petergate, YO1 7EN).

On 16 July 2015 we will be visiting All Saints North Street (YO1 6JD).

Each tour costs £6 per person (note that donations will be made to each church’s funds). To reserve a place, email [email protected]; please pay on arrival at the church.

If you would like to be kept up to date about future tours, or would like to book a private walking tour for a group, please email [email protected].

Stained Glass Workshops 2015

The Stained Glass Centre is offering four one-day, self-contained workshops in glass painting and leading in summer 2015:

Saturday 30 May 2015      Glass Painting

Saturday 20 June 2015     Glass Painting

Sunday 21 June 2015         Leading and Glazing

Saturday 4 July 2015         Leading and Glazing

The workshops run from 10.30am to 4.30pm. The cost of attending each day is £60, which includes all materials and use of tools and equipment.

Glass Painting

In this one-day workshop you will be introduced to basic techniques of painting on glass, as used by artists from the medieval period to the present day.  With our expert tuition you will practice using different brushes to produce different effects, and by the end of the day you will produce a painted piece to be fired.  If you also attend a glazing day, you will be able to incorporate your painted piece into a leaded panel.

“I really enjoyed the course, very friendly and informative”

Leading and Glazing

In this one-day workshop you will learn the basic techniques of cutting coloured glass to shape, leading and soldering the pieces to produce a simple but charming piece of stained glass.  If you have previously attending a painting day you will also be able to incorporate your painted piece into a leaded panel.

“Thank you for the brilliant day on Saturday. I had a great time making my fish!”

The Tutor

Ann Sotheran is a Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters, with over 25 years’ experience of designing and making stained glass.  She has taught evening classes in stained glass for nearly twenty years as well as various workshops and taster sessions, covering all aspects of stained glass work including glass painting and acid etching. Examples of Ann’s work can be found on her website.

Booking your place

You can book a place on any of our workshops through our Eventbrite page.

If you need any further information, please email us at [email protected].

Tour de Yorkshire and a Yorkshire Cream Tea on Saturday 2nd May

As the Tour de Yorkshire passes through York, get a prime viewing spot at The Stained Glass Centre on Micklegate. The peloton is due to pass the Centre twice between 2pm and 4pm, and we will be serving a Yorkshire Cream Tea to keep you going.

The elevated churchyard offers the perfect vantage point for viewing the race and our freshly-brewed tea and homemade fat rascals and scones are guaranteed to get you in the Yorkshire spirit!

The Centre will be open from 1pm to 6pm. From 1pm to 4pm entry will be by ticket only, and tickets can be bought by clicking here. Entry will be free after 4pm.

We are offering free entry to all accompanied children and an exclusive discounted ticket for our Friends.

Ticket Prices

Adult: £12

Friends: £10

Children: FREE

All prices include a Yorkshire Cream Tea

Spring Lecture

Thursday 14th May 2015

Stained Glass by Henry Gyles from Belsay Castle

Susan Harrison, English Heritage

A previously unknown window by the eminent glass painter Henry Gyles of York (1645-1709) was recently discovered at Belsay Castle.  This lecture will reveal more about its discovery, research, significance, conservation and display, appropriately in the church where Gyles’ father Edmund, a glazier, was church warden and where Henry Gyles was baptised and buried.

 Susan Harrison is the Collections Curator for English Heritage, North of England, based at Helmsley Archaeology Store.

Christmas Carols

Saturday 20th December 2014

Following the success of last year’s Christmas carols, we are proud to host carolling  at The Stained Glass Centre,  St Martin cum Gregory, Micklegate. Help us get Christmas week off to a tuneful start by joining us for carols, candle-light and good cheer from 17.45 on Saturday 20th December.

We will be joined by the Acomb Community Choir and David Hull’s team of wonderful hand-bell virtuosi. Mince pies and warming drinks will also be on tap – so come and sing!

2014 Exhibition

Light in the North: Modern Glass-Painters of York

November – December 2014

On Saturday, 22 November the Stained Glass Centre launched its first exhibition, Light in the North: Modern Glass-Painters of York, showcasing work by the York artists Harry Stammers (1902-1969), Harry Harvey (1922-2011), Sep Waugh, Ann Sotheran and Helen Whittaker, as well as a rare chance to see a recently-conserved piece by eighteenth-century artist William Peckitt.

There will be further opportunities to visit the exhibition, which will be open from 10.00 – 13.00 on Saturdays 29^th November, 6^th, 13^th and 20^th December.

The Stained Glass Centre is proud to present this selection of works by modern stained glass artists of York. The city has been a centre of excellence in stained glass since the medieval period and is home to a wealth of stained glass. York has seen the art of stained glass decline and be revived both in the eighteenth and twentieth centuries.

This exhibition provides a glimpse of the work of stained glass artists involved in the twentieth-century revival of stained glass in York, and of the contemporary artists they taught, inspired and influenced. It provides a rare opportunity to see the work of these closely-connected artists in the same space, presenting vidimuses (initial designs), sketches, cartoons, paintings and stained glass side by side. In presenting the artists’ work in this way, we hope to highlight the range and skill of stained glass artists and their artistic proficiency in various media.

There is also the opportunity to see a recently-conserved eighteenth-century panel, signed by Peckitt, and to learn more about the conservation process. Most importantly, we are keen to highlight the perpetual evolution and fluidity of this thriving art form, which continues to develop and transform with every generation.

The exhibition has been curated and mounted by a volunteer team of History of Art students from the University of York. Also on display are the results of new historical research on the fabric of the church and the parishioners commemorated in it, undertaken by a graduate student archaeologist and interns funded by the Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past (IPUP). The exhibition complements the outstanding stained glass in the church itself, underlining the unbroken continuity of glass-painting practice in the city of York.

A handlist of the artworks featured in the exhibition will shortly be available to download and copies can be bought at the exhibition itself.

Friends Launch

Saturday 22nd November 2014

The Centre will be open from 10:30am until dusk, providing the opportunity to see our new exhibition ‘Light in the North: Modern Glass-Painters of York’, meet our Trustees and Volunteers and join our Friends Community.

The Launch of the Friends Community will begin at 12.00pm, with short speeches on the plans for the future of the Stained Glass Centre accompanied by canapes and sparkling wine.

To help us make sure that there are enough canapes and bubbly to go around, please let us know if you will be joining us for the Launch by emailing [email protected].

We hope to see you at our Friends Community Launch!

_______++++++__   

Our new exhibition ‘Light in the North: Modern Glass-Painters of York’ will showcase work by the York artists Harry Stammers, Harry Harvey, Sep Waugh, Ann Sotheran and Helen Whittaker, and is a rare chance to see a recently-discovered piece by eighteenth-century artist William Peckitt.

Autumn Lecture

Thursday 2nd October 2014

7.30 pm

Old Craft, New Art: An Artistic Journey by Helen Whittaker

Helen Whittaker, Creative Director and Artist/Designer at Barley Studio, Dunnington

Over the past 20 years, Helen Whittaker has created many new stained glass windows as well as conserving historic glass at Barley Studio in York.  In this lecture she will describe her inspirations, including context, narrative, geometry and movement, as well as the process of creating new art to commission using the traditional craft of stained glass, reflecting on the past while looking to the future.

The Paradise Window (2014): New East Window for St Brandon’s Church, Brancepeth, County Durham

Helen Whittaker is Creative Director and Artist / Designer to Barley Studio, York, a stained glass firm renowned for both conservation and new work. She is an award-winning designer of stained glass windows and architectural sculpture in glass and copper, with commissions for Ely Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Selby Abbey, Beverley Minster, Southwell Minster, Worksop Priory, The Royal Air Force Club, London, The Haven Trust, London and York Hospital among many others.

2014 Walking Tours

The Stained Glass Centre is delighted to offer two guided tours of churches in the centre of York this summer, examining the wealth of medieval, Victorian and modern stained glass in this city.  Each tour will be led by our expert guides, beginning at 6.15 pm and lasting for around one and a half hours.

Wednesday 18 June 2014      St Martin cum Gregory and Holy Trinity Micklegate
(meet at St Martin cum Gregory)

Wednesday 16 July 2014        St Denys Church, Walmgate

The cost of each walk will be £6. Please note that a donation will be made to each church’s funds.

2014 Stained Glass Workshops

The Stained Glass Centre is offering four workshop days this summer, which will be led by Ann Sotheran. Two different workshops are available, and each workshop is self-contained:

Saturday 7 June 2014            Glass Painting

Saturday 21 June 2014          Glass Painting

Sunday 22 June 2014            Leading and Glazing

Saturday 28 June 2014          Leading and Glazing

Each workshop runs from 10.30am to 4.30pm.  The cost of attending each day is £60, which includes all materials and use of tools and equipment.

Glass Painting

In this one-day workshop you will be introduced to basic techniques of painting on glass, as used by artists from the medieval period to the present day.  With our expert tuition you will practice using different brushes to produce different effects, and by the end of the day you will produce a painted piece to be fired.  If you also attend a glazing day, you will be able to incorporate your painted piece into a leaded panel.

“I really enjoyed the course, very friendly and informative”

Leading and Glazing

In this one-day workshop you will learn the basic techniques of cutting coloured glass to shape, leading and soldering the pieces to produce a simple but charming piece of stained glass.  If you have previously attending a painting day you will also be able to incorporate your painted piece into a leaded panel.

“Thank you for the brilliant day on Saturday. I had a great time making my fish!”

The Tutor

Ann Sotheran is a Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters, with over 25 years’ experience of designing and making stained glass.  She has taught evening classes in stained glass for nearly twenty years as well as various workshops and taster sessions, covering all aspects of stained glass work including glass painting and acid etching. Examples of her work can be found on her website.

Spring Lecture

Thursday 22 May 2014
7.30 pm

“He is not Here…”: First World War memorial stained glass and the fragile art of remembrance

Dr Neil Moat, Independent Scholar, Lecturer and Author

The Stained Glass Centre’s contribution to the act of international remembrance is an illustrated lecture by one of Britain’s leading scholars in nineteenth-century stained glass studies.