Discovery of Glass from St Mary’s Church, Bramall Lane, Sheffield
Reports about the finding of nineteenth-century glass from Sheffield’s St. Mary’s Church on Bramall Lane surfaced
in August.Vidimus is appreciative of Sylvia Pybus for piecing together parts of the narrative and intends to conduct a
more thorough study once the present limitations are lifted.
Consecrated in 1830, St. Mary’s was constructed in the 1820s. In 1939, it was one of several churches that had
windows removed, mostly from the nineteenth century, to protect it from the threat of war destruction.
The stained glass was removed and placed below, along with the 20-by-12-foot east window. When the church
suffered damage from the first Sheffield Blitz on December 12–13, 1940, losing the majority of its roof, this action
was justified.
According to a design put up by Professor Stephen Welsh of the University of Sheffield, the west end of the structure
was separated from the east and transformed into a community facility during the restoration process, which was
completed before the church was reopened in 1957.
Though it was said to be as remote as a Welsh mine, a cavern in the Peak District, or a coalfield in South Yorkshire,
the glass’s records had sadly been lost. Instead, simple glazing filled the windows. The antique glass was never found
despite repeated requests for information, so in 2007 the church hired York-based Helen Whittaker of Barley
Studios to create a new east window as part of an £80,000 Arts Council-funded project.
After installation began on 30th November, 2008, a final, fruitless, appeal was made in The Guardian on 1st
December, seeking retired miners who might have information on the original stained glass, described as “some of
Britain’s best examples of pre-Victorian abstract work”.((Martin Wainwright, ‘Miners asked to solve riddle of
missing stained glass windows’, The Guardian, 1st December 2008[Accessed 25 August 2020].))
The then vicar of St Mary’s, Canon Julian Sullivan, was quoted:Helen has created a beautiful piece of work, but
regrettably, we don’t know much about the original windows’ appearance. Meanwhile, someplace down there are still
windows from the 19th century.
Their abstract nature is described, and it is evident that they were highly admired. Although we haven’t been able to
locate them, it would be great if someone still knew their location.”Miners asked to solve riddle of missing stained
glass windows,” by Martin Wainwright, The Guardian, December 1, 2008
The lost glass was discovered in August after being purchased at auction by Colin Mantripp, who runs a woodcarving
business in Buckinghamshire.Although Mr.
Mantripp did not attend the auction, he placed a £300 bid on what he believed to be a box of stained glass fragments
that he could use in his custom designs (Good News Network, “Box of Stained Glass Bought at Auction Solves 80-
year Mystery of Church Windows Gone Missing During WWII,” August 9, 2020).
When he went to pick it up, he discovered an 8-by-3-foot wooden box filled with thirteen stained-glass panels, which
was larger than he had anticipated.
The words “St Mary’s” were printed on the box, but no information regarding the glass’s origin was provided.Mr.
Mantripp offered them back to the church after discovering the missing St. Mary’s glass narrative online.
Unfortunately, the panels most likely come from the east window, which was filled in 2008 with a new commission
from Helen Whitaker.
Further investigation into the panels’ maker, date, and iconography will have to wait until local archives are once
again accessible. The panels, which feature narrative scenarios and massive standing people, are believed to have
been created in the 1850s.
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