Morecambe Winter Gardens stained glass windows being restored by artist

In a studio converted from a cottage privy, Sarah Walkley is carefully restoring all the Victorian stained glass which has adorned the Winter Gardens for more than a century.

And she’s even creating new panels as part of the year-long project which should be completed by the end of March in time for when the building re-opens again to the public.

It was while the stained glass artist was taking part in a craft fair at the Winter Gardens a few years ago, that she noticed how the stained glass there was in a poor state of repair and offered to take on the work of restoring it.

Keen to use local people to help restore the historic building, Winter Gardens Preservation Trust chair, Prof Vanessa Toulmin, gave her the job.

“Over the past few months I’ve worked on everything from repairing single pieces of glass to the complete restoration of large panels and creating six brand new panels,” Sarah explained.

One of the biggest challenges is matching up the glass as some is no longer available. It’s not known for sure who originally produced all the stained glass in the Winter Gardens although

it could have been a large studio firm such as Hardman & Co of Birmingham rather than the Lancaster company, Shrigley and Hunt.

But now Sarah is putting her own stamp on the Winter Gardens and after 33 years working with stained glass, it is the first time her craft will be seen in a theatre.

Churches both in the UK and abroad have stained glass which Sarah has either restored or designed herself.

Among the examples nearby are in St Mark’s Church in Natland and Holy Trinity, Kendal’s parish church.

The oldest church where she has worked is the medieval Duomo di Siena in Italy.

Schools across the country as well as libraries and offices have examples of Sarah’s work and she also produces private commissions including one recently for a couple in Cockerham.

And when not working on stained glass for buildings, Sarah makes stained glass flowers and fused glass which she sells at craft fairs, shops and online as Sarah Bibet Fused Glass.

But her career in stained glass began by accident. “I wanted to do textiles or pottery after I graduated but then saw that there was a stained glass course in Italy and the idea of six months there sounded nice so I decided to go and have never looked back.”

Sarah trained at Vetrate Artistiche Toscana in Siena between 1994-5 and had a stained glass studio in London before setting up a business in Kendal.

Originally from Yorkshire, Sarah moved to Dolphinholme when one of her children became a student at Lancaster University.

As part of her Winter Gardens commission, she has run a workshop for the theatre’s volunteers and in March will be leading another at Lancaster’s Gregson Centre where she has taught before.

“It amazes me how many people want to learn to make stained glass. My classes are always oversubscribed.”

The stained glass restoration at the Winter Gardens is being funded by a £7,405 grant from Morecambe Town Council, a contribution from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and public donations.