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Darnley Mausoleum:
At the beginning of summer 2007 I was asked by Godstone Glass
if I would like to make these panels. The design, by another
artist, is based on an original water colour produced by the
architect James Wyatt,in 1786. The Darnley Mausoleum has undergone
a complete transformation by the stone masons and now, rather
than looking sad, neglected and vandalized, it stands proud
and gleaming in Cobham Woods in Kent in the grounds of Darnley
Hall. Recently with the addition of the 3 finished lunette
windows, the project is nearing completion. It will be open
to the public in 2009.
Godstone Glass won the commission and I soon began the lengthy
process of manufacture.
I first made full size drawings which were then approved
by English Heritage and The National Trust. A small 1/4 size
panel was made to show the style of painting, enamel and glass
colours . The approval process took some time but finally
we got the go ahead and full production got under way.
There are in total 3 lunette windows each 3m in diameter.
So not a job for the inexperienced or faint hearted! Each
piece of glass is painted and stained in the traditional way
with the adition of a special 'designed for the job' enamel
applied to the background and fired in a kiln. I had help
from 2 former collegues and of course from Godstone Glass
who apart from cementing , fitting and housing the whole job
were working behind the scenes with the main contractor leaving
me to get on with the work.The whole process took 6months
from start to finish and was fitted in late April 2008.
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