February 2020
Please note that as of the Stained Glass Repository committee meeting held on the 10th February 2020 the London Stained Glass Repository will be referred to as the Stained Glass Repository. This is a consequence of the Repository's move from Glaziers Hall London to the Welbeck Estate, Nottinghamshire and took effect as from the committee meeting of June 2019.
October 2017
The Repository has a new home.
In order to facilitate the refurbishment of Glaziers Hall, which includes reordering of the basement of the hall to create a large lettable space, the London Stained Glass Repository (LSGR) has very recently moved to a new home on the Welbeck Estate in North Nottinghamshire.
Welbeck Abbey was founded in 1153, and in 1607 became the home of the Cavendish family. In 1716 a member of the Cavendish family was created the 1st Duke of Portland. The Welbeck Estate has been home to the Dukes of Portland since then. In 1977 the family set up the Harley Foundation to provide museum and gallery space, and to create the Harley Studios utilising estate buildings close to the A60 south of Worksop.
We have been most fortunate to have been introduced to the Harley Foundation and its work at Welbeck. A small group of us made a visit to Welbeck in February and it is from this initial visit that a plan was put in place to enable us to move the LSGR there over this summer. We are most grateful to the Harley Foundation for offering us a new home, and facilitating our move into refurbished accommodation so swiftly.
Whilst this is a major change for the Repository, which has been housed in the basement at Glaziers Hall since it was set up in 1982, it presents some significant opportunities to develop the scope of our work, as we become part of the Harley Studios, set up by the Harley Foundation at Welbeck to foster and encourage the practice of traditional arts and crafts in a community environment.
The address of our new home is Unit 1, Tan Gallop, Harley Studios, Welbeck.
We are located at the far end of Tan Gallop – at the other end, close to the museum and gallery buildings, is the recently opened Portland Collection building which houses the priceless art collected by the Dukes of Portland over the past 300 years. All the collections displayed at Harley Gallery are open to the public free of charge.
We believe that the Repository, although now out of central London, has moved to a very attractive location and will be in the heart of an arts community which, as we settle in and find our way around, will afford significant new opportunities for us to engage with more of those who already have an interest in stained glass, and perhaps more importantly, with the wider general public. Charities have to display that they operate “for the public benefit” and we will be achieving this objective in a much more positive way at Welbeck.
As part of our commitment to the Harley Foundation we will be participating in Harley Studio events and open days, and our committee members will be spending more time at Welbeck as we grow into our new modus operandi.