Issue 37 Spring 23 WEB - Flipbook - Page 48
Our Town Hall Glass Conservation
by Lee Bilson - Conservation Manager at Recclesia.
Recclesia began stained glass conservation work at
Manchester Town Hall as part of the UK's largest historic
building conservation project in June 2021, having been
commissioned to undertake work to the Great Hall and
Staircases the jewels in the crown of the magnificent town
hall building. Designated as the most highly significant
part of the building, the great hall is full to the brim with
heritage details, from the tremendous windows to a
spectacular organ, carved stonework and a breath-taking
decorative ceiling, and magical wall paintings by Ford
Madox Brown.
A major part of the project was committing to provide a
number of employment and training benefits as part of
the social value aims. This included our recruiting for
three traineeship positions at various levels of qualification
and skillset, including Carlotta Cammelli, a recent MA
graduate from York, who has since gone on to become
the studio lead of our Manchester studio.
As a company we feel it is so important to be able
recognise people’s skills and experience, and to enable
them to grow. Not only for the individual, but also for the
business. The approaches on the OTH project with
regards to Social Values enabled us to further explore ways
for traditional skills to be handed down to a new wave of
stained-glass conservators and glaziers, nurturing and
securing a vibrant future for our ancient crafts. This
included all of our employees obtaining new qualifications
or achieving higher levels of qualification, including NVQ
levels 2/3/6, Membership Accreditations, and adding to
the portfolios of team members on the ICON Pathway for
ACR, like Carlotta. Building conservation aside, the
i
After completing extensive survey work to report on
condition and create an asset catalogue, removal of the
enormous windows began in July 2021. Both of the
Recclesia Stained Glass studios in North Wales and
Manchester worked on this project through 2021 and
2022. The teams meticulously conserved every single
section of glass, piece by tiny piece, applying their extensive glass conservation expertise to these outstanding
windows, a key part of Manchester's built heritage.
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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