{"id":567221,"date":"2026-05-05T10:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T10:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/567221\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T10:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T10:18:10","slug":"salisbury-cathedral-restores-stained-glass-treasure-by-edward-burne-jones-and-william-morris-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/567221\/","title":{"rendered":"Salisbury Cathedral restores stained-glass treasure by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris | Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sam Kelly admitted there had been some nights of broken sleep as he led a two-year project to restore one of Salisbury Cathedral\u2019s treasures, a stained-glass window by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be wrong to say I didn\u2019t lie awake sometimes,\u201d said the head glazier. \u201cYou are working on something that is very precious and if it fell on the floor, it would be very bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Happily, the 6.5-metre (21ft) tall \u201cAngels\u201d window did not hit the floor. The restoration has been hailed a huge success and this week the artwork will be celebrated and rededicated at an evensong service.<\/p>\n

The window was designed in the late 19th century by the pre-Raphaelite artist Burne-Jones<\/a> and Morris, the textile artist and poet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sam Kelly, the head glazier, started as an apprentice at the cathedral 40 years ago. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster<\/p>\n

In the century and a half since, water ingress, condensation and the deterioration of much of the painted detail led to the need for restoration.<\/p>\n

Kelly, who started as an apprentice at the cathedral 40 years ago and now oversees the care of all its stained-glass windows, said the first task in February 2024 was removing the big, heavy window safely from its position above the south quire aisle. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t very stable and you have to be a bit careful that you\u2019re not going to do any more damage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Once the window had made it safely to the on-site workshop, it was carefully documented, partly to plan the restoration programme but also as a record so that future custodians of the cathedral\u2019s glass would know exactly what work had been carried out.<\/p>\n

Close-up of before and after details of a praising angel. Photograph: Cassie Dalby<\/p>\n

The window depicts \u201cangeli ministrantes\u201d and \u201cangeli laudantes\u201d \u2013 ministering and praising angels. Burne-Jones designed the angels, Morris the decorative leaf design.<\/p>\n

Kelly and his colleagues Vicky Pearce, Kate Kersey and Alfie Durrant carefully cleaned the glass to help restore the original colours. \u201cThat made it brighter,\u201d said Kelly.<\/p>\n

Referring to Burne-Jones\u2019s chalk design, they restored lost details on to 2mm thick \u201cbacking glass\u201d rather than adding anything to the original surface. \u201cNothing has been done to the original glass other than light cleaning,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cAll of the additional detail is on the backing glass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protective glazing and oak frames have been added to try to prevent any further deterioration.<\/p>\n

Kelly said he was happy with the results. \u201cWe have learned a lot about the history and execution of this window and it\u2019s pleasing to know the work we have carried out will allow it to be enjoyed by generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ministering angels after restoration in Salisbury Cathedral. Photograph: Salisbury Cathedral<\/p>\n

The dean of Salisbury, the Very Rev Nicholas Papadopulos, praised the restoration project. \u201cThe team has restored the contours, clarity and colour of this 19th-century masterpiece through their painstaking work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud that the artistry has been preserved and enhanced with contemporary skill. Sunlight will illuminate Burne-Jones\u2019s angels once more, and their beauty will lift our spirits and rekindle our hope for many more years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The window can be seen in the south quire aisle and will be rededicated at evensong on 7 May at 5.30pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sam Kelly admitted there had been some nights of broken sleep as he led a two-year project to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567222,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-567221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}