29 November 2022

Scene & Word is delighted to announce the successful completion of a major six-year public art conservation project following the installation of the last of 12 refurbished dalle de verre windows by Jonah Jones at St David’s Church, Mold.

The final batch included one panel that had to be rebuilt from scratch after collapsing due to deterioration at the windows’ former home in a now-demolished church in Morfa Nefyn, Gwynedd. A rubbing had been taken of the panel before attempting to remove it, which enabled the rebuild to be an exact replica.

The rebuild and restoration work was carried out under contract to Scene & Word by glass technicians Owen Luetchford and Stacey Poultney from the Architectural Glass Centre (AGC) at the Swansea College of Art, UWTSD (University of Wales Trinity St David). Wherever possible, students at the AGC participated in the restoration project.

Under the direction of project manager Mike Bunting, the windows were installed at St David’s Church in a combination of stainless-steel frames manufactured by Dee Tech Services of Hawarden and specially commissioned lightboxes. Scene & Word have paid tribute to Mr Bunting’s “unwavering determination to seeing the job through all the way from concept to reality – project management at its very best.”

In their new home, Jonah Jones’s windows now share a space with a fine set of dalle de verre windows by Dom Charles Norris, a monk from Buckfast Abbey.

Bishop Peter of Wrexham is planning a public rededication service in spring or early summer 2023.

Photographs by Mike Bunting