Shropshire Star

Stained glass shines again in restoration at Broseley Victorian building

The full restoration of the stained glass windows in a late Victorian building at the centre of the Broseley community has been completed in readiness for the ending of the lockdown.

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The stained glass windows have been restored

A total of 20, 3ft-wide stained glass panels around the front of the two storey Instone’s building are included in the restoration.

The building, in a conservation area at the bottom of the town’s high street, was built in 1901 by R A Instone to sell the widest range of requisites from grain to agricultural implements

And for the last 23 years it has been the home of Harwood The Estate Agents, run by Richard Alfred’s great, great, grandson Patrick Smitheman, who with his wife Annie have taken enormous pride in bringing it back to its former glory.

They are particularly proud of the restoration of the English muffled glass with mouth blown roundels in the centre of each one.

In addition, some of the stained-glass windows within the building which were damaged have also been restored and refitted into internal windows in the offices so they can be viewed by customers when they visit.

Mechanism

In a space above the newly converted rental office, they have managed to get the windows to open again.

For the first time in 50 years the windows open using an old Victorian pull string mechanism.

While the stained glass panels at the front of the building can only be seen from the outside, there are four windows to the right-hand side which can also be seen from the inside as well due to the removal of a suspended ceiling.

Patrick said: “When we come out of this terrible period, we shall invite local people to come round and see the work that has gone on to restore the stained glass.

“We are proud that the building is still part of the high street and looking resplendent which will be of interest to local people and even those from further afield who appreciate architectural restoration.

“I plan to continue restoring the building including the roof and to give all the brickwork a clean.

"Once we have tackled the fabric of the premises, I plan for us to have a final external makeover so that the people of Broseley get to benefit from what the building provides for generations to come.”

The restoration of the windows was carried out by Keith Brettle Stained Glass of Hampton Loade, Bridgnorth.