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Most of Thomas Denny’s stained glass windows are in churches, and their themes are scriptural. Several new projects, however, have also been celebrations or commemorations of remarkable people, incorporating their relationship with a particular place and landscape. At Gloucester Cathedral is the Ivor Gurney glass; this composer and poet, a kind of patron saint of mental illness, and speaker of beauty and anguish, had an intense connection with Gloucestershire, the land of his birth. Adjacent to the Gurney glass is now a Gerald Finzi window, an attempt to make a visual equivalent of the character and themes of his music. At Leicester Cathedral is a pair of windows installed with the re-interment of King Richard III. Here, stories that emerge from an individual life are intended to become stories for all of us: loss, courage, redemption.
Most of my windows are in churches, and their themes are scriptural. Several new projects, however, have also been celebrations or commemorations of remarkable people, incorporating their relationship with a particular place and landscape.
New book out now
Glory, Azure and Gold: The Stained-Glass Windows of Thomas Denny, 2023
£35 + postage & packaging
Let Your Light Shine | stained glass windows by Thomas Denny
This mesmerising 30-minute documentary follows the making of three new stained glass windows for the Church of St James, Grafton Underwood in Northamptonshire. Filmed over 18 months, it gives us a detailed and moving insight into the working practices and thought processes of one of Britain’s foremost stained glass artists, Thomas Denny. We see the exciting development of this project’s journey: from the initial sketches to the artist’s studio in Dorset – and all the way to the glass-blowing furnaces of Lamberts Glass in Germany, where the vibrant flashed glass is made. With commentary from The Rt Rev'd Nicholas Holtam, Bishop of Salisbury Cathedral and The Very Rev'd David Monteith, Dean of Leicester Cathedral, this contemplative film allows us to absorb the windows’ spiritual significance and the unique beauty of Denny’s work. The windows and this accompanying documentary were commissioned by David and Mary Laing as a gift to the Church of St James and people of Grafton Underwood. It’s from David’s original ideas and drawings that this project came to be. Find out more about visiting The Church of St James, Grafton Underwood
“‘In thy light we shall see light’”
“‘She crieth at the gates’”
“‘When I consider... the work of thy fingers... What is man, that thou art mindful of him?’”
“‘How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings’”
“‘I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert’”
“‘A land whose stones are iron’”
