Issue 42 summer 24 web - Flipbook - Page 54
Choose glass for
a warm welcome
An attractive entrance is the first step in welcoming visitors. Traditional heavy wooden doors that are
difficult to negotiate can be off putting – a factor especially relevant for churches who would like to
encourage more people into their buildings. Replacing wooden doors with glass allows people to see
what is happening inside, allowing light to flood into the building as well as excluding draughts and
improving heat retention.
We talk to Peter Hazeldean, MD of heritage structural
glass specialist Ion Glass about some of the many and
varied projects they have undertaken to create attractive
and functional entrances for a number of churches.
In the market town of Lewes in East Sussex, the church
of St Michaels sits directly on the High Street with minimal external space. Dating back to around 1200 it is the
only remaining church within the old town walls, close to
Lewes castle and of much historical and architectural
interest, especially for the narrow, shingled spire that is
visible for miles around.
Grade 1 listed, the church has undergone many improvements and changes over the centuries. An internal lobby
was commissioned to create a draught free entrance
Below, Holy Trinity Wantage exterior
whilst ensuring visitors to the church have an unimpeded
view of the nave when they first enter the building.
The frameless glass structure installed by Ion Glass
comprises of double glass doors set into two side panels, a
side panel fixed to an original stone pillar and a glass
ceiling above. Ion devised a unique fixing mechanism to
allow the glass doors to pivot directly from the glass panel
that forms the ceiling.
‘The beauty of using glass in a building like this,’
comments Peter Hazeldean, ‘is that it makes minimal
physical impact on the original fabric of the building,
whilst at the same time creating a robust and fully functional structure. At St Michaels the glass is fixed using
stainless steel channels set into the walls and the floor.
We had these bespoke manufactured to accommodate
subtle changes in the floor levels to achieve a deceptively
simple, fully frameless result.’
The glass side panel sits directly against a carved stone
pillar but digital measuring techniques used by Ion’s skilled
technicians means that the interface is perfect, with the
