The magnificent collection of Flemish glass created for the Abbey of Herkenrode (near Hasselt, Liège, in present-day Belgium) in the 1530s was once described by Charles Winston, nineteenth century barrister and antiquarian, as ‘perhaps the finest specimens of pictorial glass-painting in the world’. Since 1806, these remarkable windows have been housed in the Lady Chapel of Lichfield Cathedral, and since 2010 have been conserved at Barley Studio under the direction of Keith Barley FMGP ACR.  Five of the seven large windows depict scenes from the life of Jesus, from the Annunciation, through the Passion and the Resurrection to the Day of Judgement; the final two windows contain a collection of donor panels.

The Herkenrode windows date from the very end of the medieval period and show remarkable ‘Renaissance’ style painting effects, including heightened use of perspective and shadowing.  They are of international interest and importance, not least because they escaped the major restoration and repainting carried out on other Flemish glass of this period. 

Keith Barley FMGP ACR is internationally renowned in stained glass conservation. After completing his apprenticeship at the York Glaziers Trust in 1973, he founded his own stained glass company, Barley Studio. Barley Studio has undertaken many important conservation and restoration projects throughout the UK. In 1998 their work at Fairford was honoured by the prestigious National Award for Conservation,which remains the only National Award for Conservation to be made in the stained glass discipline. Keith has published widely on the study and conservation of stained glass and has given lectures and talks throughout the UK and abroad.
 
Book tickets  £15 / £12.50 Friends of the Stained Glass Museum

For more information and to book tickets please go to www.stainedglassmuseum.com/lectures 
 
The Stained Glass Museum
The South Triforium
Ely Cathedral
Ely, UK-Cambridgeshire CB7 4DL
+44 (0)1353 660347
http://stainedglassmuseum.com/coms.html