The Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass is one of the

livery companies A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are Style (form of a ...

of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. The Guild of

Glazier A glazier is a tradesperson responsible for cutting, installing, and removing glass (and materials used as substitutes for glass, such as some plastics).Elizabeth H. Oakes, ''Ferguson Career Resource Guide to Apprenticeship Programs'' ( Infoba ...

s, or makers of

Glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

, the company's forerunner, existed as early as the fourteenth century. It received a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

of incorporation in 1638. It is no longer a trade association of glass craftsmen, instead existing, along with a majority of livery companies, as a charitable body. The original Glaziers Hall was burnt down during the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

in 1666. The current

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...

was acquired and refurbished in 1977. It is located on the south side of

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

on Montague Close in the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council ...

and has views over the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

towards the

. The company ranks fifty-third in the

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of importance applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. For individuals, it is most often used for diplomats in attendance at very formal occasions. It can also be used in the context of ...

for livery companies. Its motto is ''Lucem Tuam Da Nobis O Deus'', Latin for "O God, Give Us Your Light". The charitable activities of the Glaziers’ Company are mainly, but not exclusively, focused on stained glass, and are managed by the Glaziers' Foundation, a registered Charity, No 1143700. The foundation has four committees that were previously self-standing charities: the Glaziers' Trust, the London Stained Glass Repository, the Charity for Relief in Need and the Cutter Trust. W-C-o-G-Plaque

The Glaziers’ Trust has the largest budget and has three principal objects: assisting with the restoration and conservation of historic and important stained glass, supporting the education and training of glass artists and conservators and fostering public information and awareness. The board of the trust sits four times a year to consider applications for stained glass conservation and restoration grants. To maintain the highest professional standards it is a condition of grant that remedial work is carried out by an accredited glazier or glass conservator. The trust is usually unable to fund the cost of an entire restoration project and normally provides only partial funding. However, such is the depth of knowledge and experience on the board that its approval for a project, even if it results in only a modest award, is regularly used by applicants to help raise funds from other organisations. The trust also supports other organisations within the stained glass community such as the

British Society of Master Glass Painters The British Society of Master Glass Painters (BSMGP) is a British trade association for the art and craft of stained glass. Founded in 1921, it is a membership organisation which exists to represent the trade of glass painting and staining in Brit ...

and the Stained Glass Museum in

Ely, Cambridgeshire Ely ( ) is a cathedral city and civil parish in the East Cambridgeshire district, in Cambridgeshire, England, northeast of Cambridge, southeast of Peterborough and from London. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the built-up a ...

. Both of these receive an annual grant to help them continue their work. The trust also supports the much-respected publication, “Vidimus”, the only online journal devoted to stained glass. Through the foundation's Craft and Competitions Committee, the trust funds several educational initiatives such as the Stevens Competition. This is a nationwide competition for architectural glass design and we believe it to be the only national competition of its kind. It attracts entries from young artists, which are judged by a panel of prominent craftsmen. Sponsors of the competition regularly commission work from among the entries and the careers of many young artists have been launched by participation in the competition. The Award for Excellence and the Ashton Hill Awards provide opportunities for those wishing to pursue a practical career in stained glass. They provide the funds for placements in working studios where mentored and supervised work experience takes place. The Award for Excellence provides 40 weeks of placements and the Ashton Hill Awards 10 weeks. The Arthur and Helen Davis Travelling Scholarships provide opportunities for the study of glass outside the UK. Recent awardees have studied in the United States, Iceland, France, Germany and the Czech Republic. Continuing Professional Development Awards are available for practitioners wishing to broaden their skills either artistically or by attaining accredited conservator status. The London Stained Glass Repository (LSGR) rescues and relocates good quality

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

, principally from redundant churches. In addition to building closure, glass may need to be rescued and protected from the threat of vandalism. Rescued glass is available free of charge for installation in any suitable building to which the public has access. Once vulnerable glass has been identified the Management Committee of the LSGR assesses its artistic merit, state of repair and general condition. When this work has been done negotiations for the release and storage of the glass begin. Once in store, the glass is photographed, catalogued and all relevant information recorded. Only then can a new home be sought with most of the glass going to religious buildings. The LSGR does not limit its activities to the UK, and glass has been relocated in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

, and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. Glass can be lent to museums or included in educational projects at home and abroad. The company awards grants to churches and other public buildings for restoring and conserving stained glass.

References

External links

The Glaziers' and Painters of Glass' Company
official owners of Glaziers Hall
The Glaziers' Hall website

Glaziers' Hall
Google Satellite view of Glaziers Hall {{authority control 1638 establishments in England Defunct glassmaking companies Glaziers and Painters of Glass Organisations based in the London Borough of Southwark Organizations established in 1638 Charities based in London