TOURS

SHREWSBURY & SHROPSHIRE, 20-23 APRIL 2023

Programme

Shropshire is a delightful county with much to offer the stained glass enthusiast. The prominent towns of Shrewsbury in the north and Ludlow in the south contain some of the most interesting and important stained glass of the medieval period. David Evans, one of the most talented artists of the early 19th century, produced much stained glass in partnership with John Betton of Shrewsbury. Betton & Evans were pioneers in the early gothic revival producing windows in both pictorial and transitional gothic styles and we will see several examples of their work. In addition, the county boasts lesser well-known examples of the work of 20th century artists such as Margaret Rope (Shrewsbury and Newport), Louis Davies, and Thomas Early of Dublin (Ludlow) amongst others. Over the course of three days we will visit more than 15 sites.

Fitness: You will need to be fit enough to get on and off a coach and undertake some walking. Given the size of Shrewsbury and proximity of sites, one day will be spent on foot in the town. The total area covered over the course of the day will not exceed more than 3-4 miles in total, and the longest stretch will be 10-15 minutes max (0.5 miles).

Accommodation

We will be staying at the Mercure Shrewsbury Albrighton Hall Hotel & Spa, north of Shrewsbury. Albrighton Hall is an 18th century former manor house nestled in 15 acres of grounds with an ornamental lake. Parking is available on site, and guests have complimentary internet access and TV in their rooms. Guests are also able to use the hotel’s leisure facilities including indoor heated pool, sauna, steam and ice room.

Guides

The 2023 Study Tour will be primarily guided by Dr Jasmine Allen (Director & Curator, The Stained Glass Museum.

Prices (per person)

Residential:
£500 Residential single occupancy (inc. three nights bed & breakfast & evening meals)
£450 Residential double/twin occupancy (inc. three nights bed & breakfast & evening meals)
Non-residential (Please note Residential places have priority booking):
£250 Non-Residential (visits only) PLACES LIMITED

All prices include: two and a half days guided visits by coach, plus accommodation, breakfast and dinner for three nights, entrance fees to sites (where applicable), and a conference pack with site notes.

Booking Deadlines and Information

Deposit payments: are £150 per person and due by 24 February 2023.
Full payment: due by 31 March 2023.
For more information, Cancellation Policy and to book - Download a Booking Form

APPLICATIONS FOR STUDENT PLACES

Student Bursary:

We are delighted that thanks to the generosity of individual museum Friends we are able to offer a Student Bursary this year. For more information please download the Bursary Application Form.
Deadline: Friday 24 February 2023, 5pm

TALKS & LECTURES 2022

AUTUMN LECTURES

Autumn 2022 online webinar series

Our autumn series of talks will be held online using zoom webinars

An Artist Talk with Pinkie Maclure

Wednesday 12 October 2022, 7pm (UK) (online webinar)

Pinkie Maclure is a multidisciplinary, award-winning Scottish artist, who believes that our present is haunted by our past.

Using stained glass installations, she makes intimate work that examines today’s big issues, such as addiction, insomnia and our self-destructive relationship with nature in particular. She uses the distinctively chaotic nature of stained glass to create poignant, darkly humorous vignettes full of symbolism, exploiting the tension between the sacred and the unexpected, at a time when the end of the world feels closer than ever.

Book Tickets

Collaborative Creators of the American Opalescent

Wednesday 19 October 2022, 7pm (UK) (online webinar)

Join us for the second in our autumn talk series "Collaborative Creators of the American Opalescent"

Opalescent glass is recognized as one of the key innovations of American design; indeed, it is often referred to as “le verre américain.” The taste for opalescent stained glass in the 1880s and 90s corresponded to a taste for greater opulence in both domestic and public spaces. Luxuriant colors and textures, achieved by the use of inlays and veneers of marble and wood, wallpaper, stenciled painting, and leaded windows came to be described under the rubric of the American Renaissance. The movement has its origins in the English Aesthetic Style (1860–1900) which prioritized art of sensuous line and color.

Domestic interiors proved the fertile ground for the development of the opalescent, patented by John La Farge in 1879, “more or less opaque or milky in parts. . . [with] modulation of color, enhanced by the greater or less smoothness of one of both surfaces. waved, corrugated, or roughened in molds.” By the mid-1890s opalescent was common in houses of worship, middle-class homes, and places of worship, and manufactured by a variety of producers such Kokomo Opalescent Glass (1888) and Tiffany’s Stourbridge Glass Company (1893), as well as used by an array of studios including J&R Lamb, L.C. Tiffany, Clement Heaton, and La Farge.

Virginia Raguin Distinguished Professor of Humanities, Emeritus, College of the Holy Cross

Book Tickets

Masterpieces and pattern books of leaded panels: the Ulrix manuscript

Wednesday 2 November, 7pm (UK) (online webinar)


In December 2019, a curious manuscript was sold at auction in Brussels. It was described as a pattern book for clear, leaded windows, probably originating from the city of Tongeren (located in the current Belgium) and dating from the late 17th, early 18th century. Based on an inscription, the book was drawn by a certain Severinus Ulrix, hence its current name: the Ulrix manuscript.

It contains seventy-seven drawings of repeated geometrical patterns, as well as several notes referring to glaziers’ invoices. Most interesting is that some of the designs are almost identical to drawings in similar glaziers’ documents that are kept in Belgian and Dutch archives and museums.

Furthermore, all these manuscripts date from the same period: the 17-18th centuries. This is no coincidence, as important evolutions in glazing happened in this period: the market for stained and leaded windows changed drastically, which was reflected in the glaziers’ job as well as in the guilds’ practices. Therefore, the webinar will take the Ulrix manuscript as a starting point to talk about the system of the glaziers’ guilds and the historical evolution of the non-painted leaded-glass window in the Low Countries in the Early Modern Period

Liesbeth Langouche After subsequently finishing her studies in Art History (Ghent University) and Conservation-Restoration of Stained Glass (Hogeschool Antwerpen, Antwerp), Liesbeth Langouche dedicated her career to historical (stained) window glass, research and writing. She has recently completed her PhD at the University of Antwerp

Book Tickets

Events Archive

The Stained Glass Museum runs a variety of events throughout the year.

View a list of past events.



Cancellation Policy - General Events
The Stained Glass Museum operates a cancellation policy for events bookings (for cancellation of workshop bookings please see our Cancellation Policy).

Refunds & Cancellations
For cancellations made more than 28 days in advance we offer a full refund of your ticket price.
For cancellations made between 14 and 28 days in advance we will offer a 50% refund.
For cancellations made less than 14 days in advance we are unable to offer a refund, although you are welcome to transfer your event booking to someone else.

Please bear in mind that the Stained Glass Museum is a registered charity (No.1169842) and in order to operate successfully it’s important that we adhere to this policy.

Cancellation of events by the Museum
Under rare or exceptional circumstances the Museum may have to cancel events. If a cancellation is necessary, we will do our utmost to contact you by phone or email as soon as possible before the event. You will be offered a full refund. Please note The Stained Glass Museum is not liable for any costs associated with travel or accommodation. Please bear this in mind when booking travel or accommodation in advance.