Stained Glass Appeal

We are currently working on an exciting project to conserve and re-install the original stained glass on the landings of the Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre, as part of FuturePlan which is restoring many of the original features of the fabric of the Museum.

We need your help to raise £75,000 to bring these historical features back to their former glory for us all to enjoy.

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The story of the panels

The stained glass panels were designed by William Bell Scott (1811-1890) and were originally installed in about 1870. Around one hundred years ago they were removed, reflecting changing tastes, and were replaced with the clear glass similar to that we see in the windows today. The panels have recently been the subject of new study and we need your help to bring them back to their former glory.

There are 24 panels of stained glass which are divided into four windows, two on either side of the lecture theatre. The technique used by Bell Scott creates the effect of pen-and-ink drawings, or etchings, and the panels feature stories from classical mythology as well as the lives of the Renaissance architects and painters Raphael (1483-1520) and Giotto (1266/7-1337). The panels are now considered important historical features of the Museum.

Conservation and installation

The stained glass panels need to be cleaned, repaired and stabilised. Special metal display frames will then be constructed before the panels are carefully installed in the Museum.

When conserved and installed, you will be able to see the stained glass inside the Museum from the Whiteley Silver Galleries. The windows will be a truly impressive sight when visiting the lecture theatre.

How you can help

The V&A is a charity and we rely on donations. We now need your help to raise £75,000 to complete the conservation work and to install the stained glass by the autumn. Your contribution, however large or small, will make a difference and will be gratefully received.

Your Gift could…

• £25 enable us to purchase textured glass for repairing missing corners
• £50 provide a specialist epoxy resin kit for repairing chips and breaks
• £150 create a comprehensive object label for one of the windows
• £250 clean one of the panels of stained glass
• £500 provide the structural surveys needed for two of the windows
• £5000 create a bespoke metal frame for displaying the stained glass in one of the windows

Please become an appeal supporter today

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William Bell Scott

William Bell Scott (1811-1890) was a painter and poet, influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and a close friend of both Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), who founded the Re-Raphelite Brotherhood in 1848, and Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909), English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He famously painted Swinburne in an extraordinary portrait set against the Northumberland coast and, on his death, Swinburne wrote memorial verses for him. Bell Scott's oil painting of the German sculptor Peter Vischer (1455-1529) was commissioned for the 'Kensington Valhalla' at the V&A and the mosaic can be seen outside the entrance to the National Art Library.