Replacing A Vandalized Element Inside a Stained Glass Panel
A stained glass window in the city’s oldest church was recently vandalized. A custom replacement section was precisely crafted and seamlessly installed into the original panel.
Project Details
The church’s nearly 150-year-old stained glass, a priceless and historic feature, was recently vandalized when a stone was thrown through one of its windows. Fortunately, the exterior storm glass absorbed the majority of the impact. Although the storm glass shattered, only a single section of the lower stained glass panel—depicting a decorative vine with leaves—sustained damage.
To restore the window, a precise template of the damaged area was created through careful measurement and documentation. While photographic records are typically used to determine the design of missing sections, in this case, identical motifs appeared in other parish windows. A rubbing of the matching section was taken to guide the glass artisans.
Using this template, a replacement piece of stained glass was cut to size and meticulously hand-painted with the original silver and black design. The painted glass was then kiln-fired to permanently fuse the artwork.
Heritage Restoration’s team reinstalled the replacement panel into the window and sealed it securely. The damaged storm glass was replaced with a high-performance polycarbonate sheet, engineered to withstand sledgehammer attacks. This upgrade provides enhanced protection against future vandalism, offering peace of mind to the church and its congregation.
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