Church aims to mark 700th year with stained glass tribute to Queen

Tuesday 22 November 2022

An ancient parish church is hoping to celebrating its 700th anniversary with a new stained glass window commemorating the life and reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, if Planning approves.

After Reverend Helen Gunton of Grouville Parish Church, which was consecrated in August 1322, noticed that one of the windows in the nave area was damaged beyond repair, she began thinking of ideas for a new design, asking herself: "What is important to parishioners in 2021 and 2022?"

Reverend Gunton explained: “I came to the conclusion that Queen Elizabeth has been a significant part of people’s lives over the past few years, with the Platinum Jubilee and her sadly passing away in quick succession.” 

She added that it is particularly important that the “same traditional technique” seen across all the windows in Grouville Parish Church is used to install the new window, as well as using artwork designed by a “local craftsman”.

Pictured: Grouville Parish Church, appearing here in the 1913 annual bulletin of the Société Jersiaise, is one of the island's oldest, most significant historic buildings, with origins dating back to the 11th century. 

The person chosen to bring the design to life is Neil Mackenzie, a local artist who has been creating and restoring stained-glass windows in the island since 1986.

His work can be seen in many churches and private homes across Jersey, France and Spain.

Neil explained that the “tall and narrow” shape of the window gives scope for “limited composition”, so the artwork filling the space must be “colourful, but simple in design”.

The window will be decorated with four medallions, which will be stacked horizontally.

Pictured: Neil Mackenzie at work on a previous stained glass window project.

The top medallion will honour the parishioners with the Grouville Coat of Arms.

The second will show the Orb from the Queen’s Coronation, symbolising her role as Head of the Church.

The third will be a portrait of the Queen in her younger years, and the final medallion will show the Royal Coat of Arms. 

The background of the design will depict vine leaves, symbolising life and growth.

Pictured: The draft drawings which outline the plans for the stained glass window design.

To create this design, Neil will be using a technique that “not many people do nowadays”, which involves painted and enamelled glass.

Many traditional stained glass windows in churches have thick lead lines separating different aspects, however Neil’s design will be “delicately painted” on one piece of glass.

Lead will be used minimally to create a border around the design, as well as a thin outline around each of the four medallions.

The process of creating the stained-glass window will take between two and three months.

Neil explained that “stuff can go wrong any minute in the kiln” due to slight differences in temperature or a different type of glass. The painted detail and shading will be fired in a kiln to 650 degrees celsius for permanence, while the gold and coloured enamels will be fired at 575 degree celsius. 

Pictured: Neil's previous work work can be seen in many churches and private homes across Jersey, France and Spain.

Neil described “devasting” moments in previous projects, such as when red glass comes out of the kiln completely black, but said that he ultimately finds using the kiln “quite exciting” and loves the “suspense of not knowing what you’ll find inside when you open it the next day”.

He explains that to be successful in creating stained glass windows, you have to be “a bit of a 'Jack of all trades'”, as it means working with both metal and glass as well as producing delicate artwork.

While he said it was looking forward to creating the “interesting window” for Grouville Parish Church “immense detail”, although admitted that it will be a “particular challenge to create a lifelike portrait of the Queen on glass!”

Pictured: A delicate portrait of a women created by Neil on glass, which follows the style of the one planned of the Queen.

There is no set time frame for the completion of the new stained-glass window, and Reverend Gunton knows that there could be complications along the way, particularly with Grouville Church being a listed building.

However, she said that she is “hopeful that we have come up with a design that is in-keeping with the church’s traditional architecture”.

The total cost of the new stained-glass window will be approximately £12,500. The church is looking for donations towards the cost, with the opportunity for the window to be attributed to a deceased friend or family members. 

Pictured: Reverend Helen Gunton said Grouville Parish Church needed to raise £12,500 for the window, which she hopes will "feel like it belongs to the community".

Reverend Gunton added: “I hope that the new window is something that parishioners connect with and want to contribute too.

"I want this piece of artwork to really feel like it belongs to the community.”

The planning application for the new window is expected to be decided next month.