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Canterbury Cathedral: The Jesse Tree Window in the Corona Chapel The conservation of the medieval stained glass 2010-11
© Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. Author: Leonie Seliger, Head of Stained Glass, Canterbury Cathedral 2/14/2012
The Jesse Tree window
in the Corona Chapel
in 2008, with a close-
up showing the internal
surface
The conservation of the Jesse Tree window in the Corona Chapel of
Canterbury Cathedral
1. History of the glazing
The Corona Chapel at the easternmost end of Canterbury Cathedral contains
five tall lancet windows. Of the original glazing little remains; only the east
window retains most of its stained glass. Two figures of a Jesse tree which
showed the genealogy of Christ are currently housed in the north-facing
window nIII. The two surviving panels of the Jesse Tree window (the Virgin
and Josias) are an extremely rare and artistically as well as technically
sophisticated treasure. Images of the Virgin in particular are rare survivors in
England, as they were routinely targeted for defacement and destruction
during the iconoclasm events of the Reformation and Puritanism. Indeed,
this is the only intact medieval representation of the Virgin in Canterbury
Cathedral.
In the absence of contrary evidence it can be assumed that the two figure
panels originated in the chapel, albeit not necessarily in this particular
window. The seven ornamental border panels that surround them most
likely come from window nIX in the north-east transept of the cathedral. The
upper portion of the window is glazed in plain diamond quarries.
The Corona Chapel was built to house the relic of the skull fragment (the
‘corona’) of Thomas Becket. Offerings received suggest that this relic was
translated there by 1198, more than twenty years before the translation of
the saint’s body from the crypt into the Trinity Chapel.
The history of the building as well as stylistic analysis suggest a date for the
Jesse Tree of ca 1200. The tree would have without doubt originally filled an
entire lancet window. The earliest mention of the glass dates to 1841, when
the two figure panels were recorded by Joyce in the east window of the
Corona Chapel, the ‘Redemption Window’. They may have been installed
into that window in 1661, when repairs were carried out, to fill gaps left by
the iconoclasm of the 1640s. In 1848 Charles Winston referred to them as
‘part of a Jesse tree’ and placed them amongst the earliest glass in England.
In 1853, George Austin Junior restored the Redemption window, and
supplied new glass for the areas that had been previously ‘patched’ with the
figures from the Jesse Tree. In 1861 he created a new Jesse Tree, based upon
the two surviving figures, and placed the new stained glass into the window
adjacent to the East Window. The two medieval figure panels remained in
store until they were sold to Philip Nelson in 1908 for £26. The panels were
returned to the cathedral in 1953. The glass was dismantled from the
medieval lead matrix, cleaned, and re-leaded. The remnants of the medieval
lead were mounted on card and archived. The stained glass panels were
New corrosion products,
fractures, decaying paint
installed into window nIII of the Corona Chapel without any protective cover. They remained fully
exposed to the elements until their removal for conservation in August 2010.
2. Condition
The glass and its painted decoration were in remarkably good
condition when they returned to Canterbury Cathedral in 1953,
but it was obvious that they had suffered serious new decay since
the panels were re-installed in the Corona Chapel. Fresh
corrosion products both internally and externally indicated active
deterioration, as did the evidence of loose and flaking glass paint.
Fractured pieces were in danger of falling out of the lead matrix.
In several places backing plates had been inserted to provide
support for badly fractured glass. As the sealant between original
glass and backing plate had failed, water had penetrated into the
interspace, causing new and rapid corrosion.
The internal surface of all panels was covered in dirt and dust
deposits, which provide a basis for microbial attack.
The 1953 lead matrix was in sound condition, as was the
medieval iron ferramenta frame, although its paint finish was
failing. The ferramenta are held in place by an oak frame which is
wedged into the stone rebate of the window. Condensation run-
off and leaks were beginning to affect the lower parts of the oak
frame and the stonework at the window’s sill.
3. The conservation and protection of the medieval glass
All nine medieval panels were removed from the ferramenta
frame in August 2010.
The glass was taken to the stained glass conservation studio at
Canterbury Cathedral and recorded photographically, before
each panel was inspected in detail on the bench with the aid of
microscopes.
A comprehensive condition report was compiled for each panel,
including information on previous restoration and on the current
interventions.
Photographic recording
Compiling the condition report and cleaning of surfaces under the microscope
Cleaning, edge-bonding, securing glass with coiled lead wool
Manufacture of protective glazing
The panels were carefully cleaned under the microscope, using only tiny sable brushes and the tips
of scalpels. No chemical or wet cleaning was undertaken, and neither was the glass dismantled from
its lead matrix. The old backing plates, which had created such detrimental conditions for the glass
they were meant to protect, were removed, and the fractured pieces were edge-bonded and
stabilised with the addition of copper wire supports. This resulted in some gaps between lead and
glass. Those gaps were filled with lead wool to prevent the oily residue that traditional linseed oil
putty would bring to the medieval glass.
Once the panels were stabilised, a rubbing was taken from each to provide a basis for the design of
the outer protective glazing. The protective glazing was made to resemble the stained glass from
Cleaning the iron wedges and bars of the support structure
Support bars and installation of protective glazing into the medieval ferramenta frame
the outside, in order to reduce the visual disturbance to the building as a whole. Each protective
glazing panel is essentially a clear colourless version of the historic stained glass panel, with a
simplified lead matrix based upon the original.
Meanwhile, a very precise template was made of the medieval iron ferramenta frame which had
held the stained glass panels in place. This template was the basis for a new replica ferramenta
frame that would hold the historic stained glass in the future.
The original ferramenta frame was stripped of its 1950s paint and repainted, while the small wedges
and support bars that hold the panels in place were stripped and then oiled.
After the ferramenta was treated, a new wooden frame was installed on the inside, which not only
held the aging oak frame in place, but which would eventually receive the new replica ferramenta,
made by a local traditional blacksmith. A new condensation tray and lead sill was also installed to
prevent further water damage to the sill.
Once all these elements were in place, the protective glazing panels could be installed into the
original medieval ferramenta. They will provide the external weather shield for the historic stained
glass from now on.
The replica ferramenta frame is being installed on the protected interior of the window
The medieval stained glass is installed into the new ferramenta frame
The cleaned and consolidated medieval glass panels were then installed into the new replica
ferramenta frame on the inside of the window, with a distance of ca 60mm or slightly over 2 inches
between the outer protective glazing and the inner stained glass. Ventilation gaps at the top and the
bottom pull air from the inside of the Corona Chapel into the 60mm interspace between the outer
and inner glazing. This ensures that the precious medieval glass is protected not only from rain and
wind, but also from the danger of developing condensation on its corroded and fragile surfaces.
The installation of the medieval glass behind its new protective glazing took place in October 2011.
The corrosion which had been so clearly active and rapid will now progress at a very much slower
rate, which is expected to be below measureable. With regular minimal maintenance to ensure that
the protective glazing remains sound and the internal surface is dusted once every few decades, the
precious early glass is now preserved for many more centuries to come.
The nine medieval stained glass panels after conservation in situ in the Corona Chapel, 2012