4th May 2016 Window Frame Restoration

Depending on the building, coloured window frame restoration can be a vital part of keeping up the appearance and character of a building.

Most restorations take place using the same or similar material to the original and can provide solid insulation and a waterproof barrier which can protect the surrounding brick or stone work for years to come.

However, coloured window frame restoration can often mean calling in a different type of expert when the actual windows are of precious value.

Lichfield Cathedral in Staffordshire has just undergone a huge repair job to restore the landmark building, which is seeped in history, back to its former glory.

The cathedral boasts one of the rarest collections of medieval glass windows in the world. In the process, 400 panels were carefully removed at a cost of £3 million.

The coloured window frame restoration was concentrated on the famous Lady Chapel within the Cathedral, built in 1195, and painstakingly cleaned for the first time in 200 years.

The Cathedral has had a lot of near misses including surviving Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries during the Reformation 1536 – 1541.

It also survived the devastation of the Blitz when Luftwaffe were ordered not to bomb it – as its three spires were a valuable landmark to German pilots.

The location was also said to be a signal that they had reached their fuel limit and would have to head back home safely.

Since then it has provided a place of refuge, solitude, celebration and prayer for millions of people. However, in recent years, the walls that surrounded the windows were found to be crumbling and in danger of collapse.

Chris Gary, the events manager at Lichfield Cathedral, told the Daily Mail, ‘Several years ago the stone work was in a danger of crumbling which could have resulted in the windows possibly falling out.

‘So the glass was taken out to be cleaned and bounded back together.

‘It was fitted in a new zinc housing and then brought back and re-installed inside isothermic glass to make it double glazing.

‘It is a stunning result and it makes a huge difference in the colour because there was so much grime on them that had built up over the years.

‘It really is staggering.’