0:00:07 > 0:00:12For six centuries, before the advent of oil painting,
0:00:12 > 0:00:14medieval artists used light
0:00:14 > 0:00:17to describe the wonders of the Christian faith.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22The medium was glass...
0:00:24 > 0:00:28..painted and cut into forms to create images.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42The stained glass in the great churches of medieval Britain
0:00:42 > 0:00:47could communicate stories to a population that was largely illiterate.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51The light pouring through the windows is the light of the Lord,
0:00:51 > 0:00:53the light of Heaven.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57And so the medium and the images convey the same message -
0:00:57 > 0:01:01this is the Truth.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09God, the Father, sits at the highest point of the East Window
0:01:09 > 0:01:11in York Minster.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17At 78 feet in height,
0:01:17 > 0:01:22it's the single largest medieval stained-glass window in the country.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29I look on this as England's Sistine Chapel,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33made 100 years before Michelangelo's masterpiece.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36And it's just as ambitious in its scope.
0:01:39 > 0:01:44What these 311 stained-glass panels represent, in fact,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48is the entire history of the world,
0:01:48 > 0:01:50from the first day...
0:01:53 > 0:01:54..to the Last Judgment.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07I want to unlock the secrets of these extraordinary images
0:02:07 > 0:02:11by looking inside them, to uncover how they were made
0:02:11 > 0:02:12and what they mean.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19And that's possible now because the panels are being cleaned and restored
0:02:19 > 0:02:22as part of a huge conservation project.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30I'm going to use these panels to travel back in time
0:02:30 > 0:02:32through the 600 years of history
0:02:32 > 0:02:36that are preserved within the individual pieces of glass,
0:02:36 > 0:02:41to discover details that would normally be impossible to see...
0:02:41 > 0:02:43"Henry Bewlay new leaded this light
0:02:43 > 0:02:46"July 17th, 1825".
0:02:46 > 0:02:47Fantastic!
0:02:47 > 0:02:53..and to reveal exactly how medieval artists made images
0:02:53 > 0:02:56of such delicacy and complexity using the simplest of tools.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Because it's through this process of restoration
0:03:03 > 0:03:08that we can begin to understand how these panels were made,
0:03:08 > 0:03:10who made them,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14and how they must have appeared to the people who first saw them.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24The East Window of York Minster
0:03:24 > 0:03:28is far more than a work of artistic genius.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30It's a window onto the medieval world
0:03:30 > 0:03:32and the medieval mind,
0:03:32 > 0:03:36telling us about who we once were, and who we still are,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39preserved in the most fragile medium of all -
0:03:39 > 0:03:40..glass.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07The City of York is dominated by the presence of the Minster.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12It's the largest medieval Gothic cathedral in northern Europe.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21And the fact that it was built here is a clue
0:04:21 > 0:04:25as to just how significant this most historic of cities has been
0:04:25 > 0:04:27in British history.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31And in my work as a medieval art historian,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34it's somewhere I've become very attached to as well.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40York is a hugely important place for me.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44The medieval past oozes out of the cobbled streets
0:04:44 > 0:04:46and the quirky buildings.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49I was so seduced by the city that I ended up studying,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51living and teaching here for many years.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56But York's always been an important place. Under the Romans,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00it was the major town of the north, known as Eboracum,
0:05:00 > 0:05:04and the Vikings founded their flourishing trading town of Jorvik
0:05:04 > 0:05:06on the banks of the River Ouse.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10Into the medieval period, it was the second city of England,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13a commercial hub, and for a time,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16the administrative capital of the country.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22And the building that was at the heart of this medieval power base
0:05:22 > 0:05:26is also, I think, one of our greatest art treasures.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33York has had its own archbishop since the eighth century,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35with authority over the whole of the North of England
0:05:35 > 0:05:37up to the Scottish border.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43And that authority was reflected in the city's cathedral,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46which was repeatedly rebuilt and expanded
0:05:46 > 0:05:49over a period of more than 700 years.
0:05:51 > 0:05:57Until the Gothic marvel we see today was finally completed in the 1470s.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05To enter a cathedral in medieval times
0:06:05 > 0:06:08must have been an overwhelming experience.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12The soaring architecture, the effect of light and space,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15combined with the smell of incense and the sound of singing
0:06:15 > 0:06:21must've made for an intoxicating, almost transcendental experience.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24The medieval architecture in these spaces
0:06:24 > 0:06:27was designed to make the individual feel small
0:06:27 > 0:06:31and awe-inspired by the wonder of God's creation.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50But if it's the stonework that gives this building its grandeur,
0:06:50 > 0:06:54it's the stained glass, I think, that makes it beautiful.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00York Minster has the largest collection of medieval glass in the country
0:07:00 > 0:07:05and the crowning glory is the spectacular East Window.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12Built in just three years, between 1405 and 1408,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15it's a towering tribute to the creative heights
0:07:15 > 0:07:18that stained glass can soar to.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23And it's one of my favourite historic works of art.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29But when you come to the east end of York Minster today,
0:07:29 > 0:07:31the first thing you notice
0:07:31 > 0:07:35is that this magnificent work of medieval art isn't here.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46This enormous screen, which is a full-size photographic reproduction,
0:07:46 > 0:07:50gives you a very powerful sense of the scale of the window.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57But the glass itself has been removed.
0:08:04 > 0:08:10The window is being conserved by a team at York Glaziers Trust.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19Conservators are cleaning and restoring...
0:08:20 > 0:08:26..and re-leading the glass panels just as diligently and methodically
0:08:26 > 0:08:30as the medieval craftsmen who first worked on them.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34And it's providing a unique insight
0:08:34 > 0:08:37into how the window was actually made.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44'Sarah Brown is the director of the programme.'
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Sarah, it's wonderful to be in presence of these stained-glass windows.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52In terms of approaching the panels as a conservator...
0:08:52 > 0:08:55- Yes.- ..they're out of the tracery now.- Yes.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58- What do you do then? - The very first thing we do
0:08:58 > 0:09:03is make a one-to-one rubbing of every single panel,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05so that we have a very detailed chart
0:09:05 > 0:09:09of where each individual piece of glass sits within the panel
0:09:09 > 0:09:13and we know exactly where the lead lines are positioned.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17And all the panels are photographed as they come into the workshop.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22We note if there are any areas of particular fragility.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26Only then do we begin the process of dismantling very carefully.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30- Because these are paintings, aren't they?- They are paintings, indeed.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33If we look at how paint is applied, what can you tell us about that?
0:09:33 > 0:09:38Well, first of all, extraordinarily expert
0:09:38 > 0:09:42- in the quality of the painting. - Hmm.- Layers of wash used
0:09:42 > 0:09:45to model the figures, paint, of course, applied
0:09:45 > 0:09:47not just to one surface, but to both surfaces,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50so the treatment of the horse here,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53we've got a lot of painting on the inside surface of the glass,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56but also, to create this dappled effect,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59which now has also been slightly corroded,
0:09:59 > 0:10:04this dark horse decorated with the external application of glass paint.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09- Very, very complex layered effects of glass painting.- Absolutely.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17The East Window was created
0:10:17 > 0:10:20during a golden age for stained glass in this country,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24around the beginning of the 15th century.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27But the tradition had been evolving over many hundreds of years
0:10:27 > 0:10:29to get to this point.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39'This is the Victoria and Albert Museum in London
0:10:39 > 0:10:42'and I've come to meet Professor Richard Marks,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45'who's an authority on the history of stained glass.'
0:10:49 > 0:10:52These are two panels done in the 1240s
0:10:52 > 0:10:55for one of the most important Gothic buildings of the time -
0:10:55 > 0:10:58the Sainte Chapelle in Paris. You see the predominant colours
0:10:58 > 0:11:00- are red and blue here...- Yes.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04..and the tonality is dense.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08It's not about light so much.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10Think of a wall with glass, a wall made of glass,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14and one which you can make perhaps more interesting than a wall.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18You can do things with it and colour in terms of design, which is what you've got here.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22And you can tell stories through it.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26- So, we're looking at something quite sophisticated.- Yes.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29- But how did we get to this point? - There's a good question.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33- The trouble is, we've got enormous gaps...- Mm.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37Most of the glass we know, we know from about 1140 onwards.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42What happens before then? Well, the fragments that have been found at Jarrow and Monkwearmouth
0:11:42 > 0:11:45and other Saxon sites don't have any painting on them at all.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47They're just bits of coloured glass.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51And I think what we have to think about there
0:11:51 > 0:11:58is imagine mosaic windows. A kind of kaleidoscope of different colours,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02different shapes leaded together in the window.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06But I don't think there's any evidence of figurative work
0:12:06 > 0:12:08before the 9th century in Europe.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17What's striking about the earliest painted windows we have
0:12:17 > 0:12:20is that they still resemble a mosaic of bold colours
0:12:20 > 0:12:23separated by dark bands of lead.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33But then, in the 14th century, there's a dramatic change.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41So, Richard, what's the significance of this panel, then?
0:12:41 > 0:12:43It's a technical significance,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46which is a very fine example here of a technique
0:12:46 > 0:12:49which was of fundamental importance in glass painting
0:12:49 > 0:12:51in the 14th century.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53It's the application of silver stain,
0:12:53 > 0:12:58which was used as a solution applied to this glass.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Now, what this enabled glass painters to do
0:13:01 > 0:13:03is to paint two colours, if you like, white and yellow,
0:13:03 > 0:13:05without the use of leading.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09- You can see that round the head of the angel down here.- Wow.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10There's no lead at all.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15Now, of course, that had an enormous impact on translucency of glass.
0:13:15 > 0:13:21And this does enable this kind of much more use of white glass
0:13:21 > 0:13:25and painted white glass in the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30So, we've seen this progression, then, in stained glass,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32from these quite bejewelled
0:13:32 > 0:13:37- blue and red and vibrant colours... - Yes.- ..of the 12th and 13th century
0:13:37 > 0:13:40through this technological development of the staining...
0:13:40 > 0:13:44- Yes.- ..the use of yellow stain, and then, we reach panels like this.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46What you're looking at here
0:13:46 > 0:13:50is not just a masterpiece of glass painting,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54but a masterpiece of painting on glass of the late 14th century.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02What you have here,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05they're not just flat figures,
0:14:05 > 0:14:10but the faces are animated by very detailed shading.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12But look at the way the shading
0:14:12 > 0:14:15brings out of the depth, the three-dimensional nature,
0:14:15 > 0:14:17these figures project out of their niches,
0:14:17 > 0:14:21- they're coming towards you...- Yes. - ..and this is something where,
0:14:21 > 0:14:26- really, these feel like sculpture, don't they, in paint?- Mm.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29- So, the great East Window at York...- Yes.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32..is it following on this tradition?
0:14:32 > 0:14:34- I think it's another way of looking at it.- Right.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Of course, in the East Window, each panel tells a story.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53But what makes that window so incredibly impressive
0:14:53 > 0:14:57is it's the east wall, which is not masonry at the Minster,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59it's all glass.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03It's a punctuation at the end.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06And it's not one done with stonework,
0:15:06 > 0:15:13it's done with colour and vibrancy and translucency.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20And that comes out of a tradition which is peculiar to England,
0:15:20 > 0:15:25of cliff-like east ends in English Gothic cathedrals.
0:15:25 > 0:15:26And it is monumental.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33Conserving the East Window will be an equally monumental task.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38It's expected to take eight years to complete.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41And this isn't the first time the window has been dismantled.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47All the glass in the Minster was taken down
0:15:47 > 0:15:49just before the outbreak of the Second World War
0:15:49 > 0:15:52as a precaution, before being restored
0:15:52 > 0:15:57and re-installed during the 1940s and '50s.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00But even that was only one of many conservation projects
0:16:00 > 0:16:03that have taken place over the centuries.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07And they've each left their mark in the most unexpected way.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13We know of three, possibly four interventions.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17Two of them are documented with some degree of certainty.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21The 1824 to '27 re-leading of the window,
0:16:21 > 0:16:25and then, of course, the post-Second World War work.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30And the window has evidence of all of those different phases of repair.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34So, in this panel, which is the famous image of God the Father,
0:16:34 > 0:16:39from the very apex of the window, this very bright-greeny glass,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42is not medieval glass.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45We know that it dates from the 1820s.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48And in part, that's because it has a lot of graffiti,
0:16:48 > 0:16:55listing the names of the people who were involved in the repair process.
0:16:55 > 0:17:00- Gosh.- So "Henry Bewlay new leaded this light, July 17th, 1825".
0:17:00 > 0:17:03- Fantastic! So, it's a document of that process.- A document...
0:17:03 > 0:17:06- There's other dates. - Exactly. We have here
0:17:06 > 0:17:09- some names scratched in 1946.- Yeah.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Which was after the repair of this part of the window,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16following the Second World War. And some of them, of course,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19- rather more visible than we would like them to be.- Mmm.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22So, somebody, unfortunately, has scratched "top"
0:17:22 > 0:17:25- right across God's forehead. - Oh, dear!
0:17:30 > 0:17:34And, as is now becoming clear, the work of previous restorers
0:17:34 > 0:17:37has not always matched the skill of the original, medieval craftsmen.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46The first thing we'll do is take a good look at the panel
0:17:46 > 0:17:50before any of the work is done, and just see the history
0:17:50 > 0:17:52that this panel has been through.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56I think, in actual fact, this particular panel is a good survivor,
0:17:56 > 0:18:02it does have a large quantity of its original glass within it.
0:18:02 > 0:18:08More so than many. But it's covered in this very, very dense leading.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13You can see it's actually layered up, just this dense block of lead, blocking all that light.
0:18:13 > 0:18:19That's right, and we know as part of the previous restoration campaign in the 1940s and '50s
0:18:19 > 0:18:22that they were re-leading all the panels
0:18:22 > 0:18:25and they were using this very heavy gauge of lead.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29So, this lead is not particularly of a great age,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33but we feel it's so disfiguring in its gauge,
0:18:33 > 0:18:35in its strength and its weight
0:18:35 > 0:18:39that so much is hidden beneath that lead.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43Not only had the images been obscured in this way,
0:18:43 > 0:18:48but broken pieces within the panels have been repaired with even more lead.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55- Which bits are additional repairs? - Well, if we take the angel's wing,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58- clearly there's impact damage. - In the centre, yeah.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01And the extra lead radiating from that impact damage
0:19:01 > 0:19:05have been added in, obscuring much of the detail to the wing.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09The painted parts of the glass have been badly affected in other ways.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16In this particular panel, we have quite a bit of paint loss.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20- Yeah, I see.- Some of the facial features are very much disappearing.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25In part, this is due to corrosion of the surface of the glass,
0:19:25 > 0:19:29it could also be, in part, due to over-zealous cleaning in the past.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Right, so actually scrubbing the surface?
0:19:32 > 0:19:34- Probably scrubbing a bit too hard.- Wow.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44But once all that heavy 1940s lead has been removed,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48you can begin to see beyond the history of past damage,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52and really appreciate how beautifully the window was made.
0:19:56 > 0:20:02So, I can see two panels down here. This really illustrates it...
0:20:02 > 0:20:06- It does.- ..the difference between having the leads in situ and then revealed.- Exactly.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08Exactly.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13It's so exciting to see some of the lost detail coming to light.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18- Exactly. It is one of the great masterpieces of the Middle Ages.- Mm.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22The quality of the painting, I mean, the lively characterisation
0:20:22 > 0:20:27of the faces, for example, the way in which paint is rubbed out gently
0:20:27 > 0:20:30to give highlights across the top of the nose.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32The treatment of the hair and beard -
0:20:32 > 0:20:34the hair picked out with yellow stain,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37the beard left without.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41It's an astonishing piece of glass painting virtuosity, really.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44It really does to come to life here.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48When you look at a panel like this, you can see just how tightly fitting,
0:20:48 > 0:20:53how intricately cut the glass is, how these pieces were designed
0:20:53 > 0:20:57to be sitting very closely together, almost like a very elaborate
0:20:57 > 0:21:01- and extremely skilfully cut jigsaw. - Mmm.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04And the complexity of the shapes cut is all the more remarkable
0:21:04 > 0:21:08because we know that the kind of tools being used, to the modern eye,
0:21:08 > 0:21:13look rather cumbersome. For example, the grozing iron, this notched tool,
0:21:13 > 0:21:17which sits over the edge of the glass and nibbles away at the edge
0:21:17 > 0:21:23and leaves a very, very distinctive telltale cut edge to the pieces,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26which we can see very clearly in a number of the pieces of glass.
0:21:26 > 0:21:32- Can you show me that? Yeah.- It creates a very typical nibbled edge.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36- Yes.- Which is chamfered inwards. That's from the movement of the grozing iron.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38- Absolutely.- Wow.
0:21:42 > 0:21:49Most medieval stained glass was made by artists and craftsmen whose names are lost to history.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52But of all the remarkable things about the East Window,
0:21:52 > 0:21:57perhaps the most surprising is that we actually know who made it.
0:21:57 > 0:22:03His name was John Thornton, and from the evidence that survives,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07we can piece together some of the story of his life and career,
0:22:07 > 0:22:11and, in particular, his work on the East Window.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17We know he came from Coventry and he was invited to come here
0:22:17 > 0:22:23either by Archbishop Scroope, or perhaps by Walter Skirlaw,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26the bishop of Durham, who gave the window.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Both of those bishops had, for a time, lived and worked in Lichfield
0:22:29 > 0:22:34and Coventry diocese, so they might well have known him there.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38He was painting in a style which would have been recognised
0:22:38 > 0:22:42by the great masters throughout early 15th-century Europe.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46He was painting in this wonderfully painterly, soft style,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49that we tend to call the International Gothic.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54It's a style which has comparators all over northwest Europe
0:22:54 > 0:22:58and it's a style which is associated with the highest quality
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and most prestigious projects throughout Europe.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07So, he was really brought in as a kind of an exceptional figure,
0:23:07 > 0:23:13a sort of superstar artist, to be entrusted with this great window,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16the biggest window in the Minster.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19And there is this mysterious panel from the top of the window,
0:23:19 > 0:23:24- which is believed to be a monogram.- Mm.
0:23:24 > 0:23:30We have the letters "I", which in the Middle Ages would stand in for "J",
0:23:30 > 0:23:36so John, Johannes, and "M", which could be for Master, Magistere,
0:23:36 > 0:23:41and a "T" at the bottom, so this might be a monogram representing John Thornton.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51The conclusive evidence that this is the work of John Thornton
0:23:51 > 0:23:57is not to be found in the window itself, but in the contract for the making of it,
0:23:57 > 0:24:03which was drawn up by the Dean of York and the Chapter - the clerics who advised him.
0:24:03 > 0:24:09The Dean and Chapter have unwittingly left us a fascinating insight
0:24:09 > 0:24:15into how a medieval star artist was expected to go about producing a landmark work of art.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23Historian Tim Ayers has studied the contract for the East Window in detail.
0:24:23 > 0:24:29We've got these documents here. What do they tell us about John Thornton?
0:24:29 > 0:24:36Well, this is a 17th-century transcript of the Latin contract
0:24:36 > 0:24:38for the glazing of the Great East Window.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43There is also a shorter translation.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48In terms of Thornton's own work, it makes...
0:24:48 > 0:24:50a highly interesting distinction.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55"It obliges himself, with his own hands, to portraiture the said window
0:24:55 > 0:24:59"with historical images and other painted work,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02"in the best manner and form that he possibly could.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05"And likewise, to paint the same,
0:25:05 > 0:25:06"where need required,
0:25:06 > 0:25:10"according to the ordination of the Dean and Chapter."
0:25:10 > 0:25:12There seems to be a distinction
0:25:12 > 0:25:15between the portraiture and the painting,
0:25:15 > 0:25:19that the design would, in the first instance, have been drawn up,
0:25:19 > 0:25:23probably on a small scale, by the glazier, and it seems likely that
0:25:23 > 0:25:28the portraiture described here is this initial design phase.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32The painting, he apparently is only required to do so much
0:25:32 > 0:25:35as the Dean and Chapter should require him.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40This fits in well with what we know about the collaborative nature
0:25:40 > 0:25:42- of the medieval glaziers' workshop. - Mmm.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Many people would be involved in cutting the glass,
0:25:45 > 0:25:50laying it on the table, painting it, firing it, leading it up and so on.
0:25:50 > 0:25:55What we have here is an insight into what the man responsible
0:25:55 > 0:25:59for the glazing workshop was expected to do himself.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03The contract seems to suggest, then, that he's both a painter
0:26:03 > 0:26:05and a manager of quite high standing.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09And that is reflected in the pay. He's paid a lot for this work.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14- The contract is very specific about what he would be paid.- Mm.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17And it reveals that there are a series of staged payments,
0:26:17 > 0:26:20which clearly provide him with incentives.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24He should be paid four shillings sterling a week.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29He will also be paid a hundred shillings every year,
0:26:29 > 0:26:31and at the end of the contract,
0:26:31 > 0:26:36the Dean and Chapter reserve the right to pay him a bonus of ten pounds in silver.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40- Wow. And that's a lot, isn't it? - This is a great deal of money.
0:26:40 > 0:26:46- The king's glazier, at this period, was paid one shilling a day.- Mm.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Here, John Thornton is being paid four shillings a week,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52but with these extra payments and with a commitment for work
0:26:52 > 0:26:55over a period of three years.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59What else do we know about him? Is there any other evidence for him?
0:26:59 > 0:27:04There is evidence for him in the Freeman's register of York.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08- Ah!- This was a privilege that would have allowed John Thornton,
0:27:08 > 0:27:13as a Freeman, to operate within the city.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17But that's not all.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20In 1411, just a year after registering in York,
0:27:20 > 0:27:25Thornton is back in Coventry, where he takes out a 60-year lease
0:27:25 > 0:27:30on a house, only to reappear again in York some years later.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33So, although no other contracts survive for Thornton
0:27:33 > 0:27:37besides the East Window, it seems he was dividing his time
0:27:37 > 0:27:41between two cities, more than 100 miles apart.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46And that offers a tantalising possibility - that many more windows
0:27:46 > 0:27:50could be attributed to this seemingly very successful artist.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57Is there historical evidence, then, for him being in both these cities?
0:27:57 > 0:28:00Well, those who have been fascinated by the contract
0:28:00 > 0:28:04and intrigued by the artistic personality of John Thornton
0:28:04 > 0:28:08have tried to identify an oeuvre for him, if you like,
0:28:08 > 0:28:10a body of work,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13and one way of doing that has been to look at
0:28:13 > 0:28:17stylistic similarities between the East Window, the documented window,
0:28:17 > 0:28:19and other windows.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25In York Minster, close similarities have been observed
0:28:25 > 0:28:27in the St William Window, for example,
0:28:27 > 0:28:30the giant window on the north side of the high altar.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36But also in the city's parish churches, at All Saints, North Street,
0:28:36 > 0:28:40that show some similarities to the style of John Thornton.
0:28:43 > 0:28:50In the wide-eyed expressions, use of long noses, with bulbous tips.
0:28:52 > 0:28:58The use of certain kinds of architectural canopies over figures.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01And also in the technical sophistication of his work.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09So, this has been tracked in the north of England,
0:29:09 > 0:29:13- but it has also been found in the West Midlands.- Right.
0:29:13 > 0:29:19And a key monument for that is Great Malvern Priory in Worcestershire.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21And especially the east window there...
0:29:25 > 0:29:27..which shows many of the same characteristics
0:29:27 > 0:29:30as those in the East Window and the St William Window at York.
0:29:32 > 0:29:37So, there's a detective search going on in both the art,
0:29:37 > 0:29:40trying to search for a style that can be ascribed to John Thornton,
0:29:40 > 0:29:42and in the documents,
0:29:42 > 0:29:46hunting him out in references in Coventry and in York.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52But he remains somewhat an elusive figure, doesn't he?
0:29:52 > 0:29:55He remains quite elusive, but it does appear that Thornton
0:29:55 > 0:29:59was operating workshops both in York and in Coventry.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03We have a sense of a business, if you like.
0:30:03 > 0:30:08A great business operating across the North of England
0:30:08 > 0:30:11and well down into the Midlands.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15This is quite a remarkable thing for the 15th century.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20If it were to be proved
0:30:20 > 0:30:23that these windows are the work of John Thornton,
0:30:23 > 0:30:27it would complete a picture that currently exists only on paper.
0:30:27 > 0:30:32Here was a medieval superstar artist with the savvy
0:30:32 > 0:30:37to market his talents across a great swathe of the country.
0:30:39 > 0:30:45Whoever did create these windows was clearly a master of his craft,
0:30:45 > 0:30:47and they become even more impressive
0:30:47 > 0:30:51when you discover what was involved in actually making them,
0:30:51 > 0:30:53because in John Thornton's time
0:30:53 > 0:30:56producing even a single sheet of glass
0:30:56 > 0:31:00was a skilled and labour-intensive process.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09At this works in Birmingham,
0:31:09 > 0:31:11they still use the same basic techniques
0:31:11 > 0:31:14as glassmakers in the 15th century.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21To produce a flat sheet of glass, you first have to make a cylinder.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29Walter Pinches has been a glassmaker for more than 40 years.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33What I'm doing now is a first-time gather.
0:31:33 > 0:31:38This is to build up the amount of glass as I want.
0:31:38 > 0:31:44- OK. So this is just clear glass at the moment?- This is just clear glass at the moment.- Right.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52When Walter has gathered enough molten glass from the furnace,
0:31:52 > 0:31:55he adds the colour, which nowadays is ready-made.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03Medieval glassmakers would have added minerals to get the same result.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19Once the colour has been evenly absorbed,
0:32:19 > 0:32:22Walter can begin to shape the glass.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28There's something of magic or alchemy about this whole process.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33Just seeing the liquid glass come out of the furnace and then solidify,
0:32:33 > 0:32:36and then as the air is being introduced as well,
0:32:36 > 0:32:39it's just such an incredible process.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42I can only imagine what it must have seemed like to the medieval viewer.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51Wow, it's just ballooning in there, isn't it?
0:32:57 > 0:33:02Then, as Walter begins to swing the balloon of molten glass,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05the shape of the cylinder forms.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18Over to the torch.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45Over to the table.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49- This is the finished cylinder.- OK.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52All's we have to do now is crack it off and put it in the oven.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56That's incredible.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58Finally, each cylinder is cut open
0:33:58 > 0:34:01and flattened to make a square-edged pane.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14Wow. So many stages, it's incredible.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18- That's what makes it so expensive. - Yeah.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44A tremendous amount of work was involved in making a material
0:34:44 > 0:34:46we nowadays take for granted.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54And even that was only the first step
0:34:54 > 0:34:56to crafting windows like these.
0:35:04 > 0:35:09The skills that produced such finely detailed images have not been lost.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22A few miles outside the City of York
0:35:22 > 0:35:25is the studio of a contemporary stained-glass artist,
0:35:25 > 0:35:27Helen Whittaker.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34Helen creates her own original window designs by the same process
0:35:34 > 0:35:38that John Thornton and his studio made the East Window.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46So Helen, tell me what you're working on at the moment.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48Where did you begin?
0:35:48 > 0:35:53This is a design for a church in Northamptonshire.
0:35:53 > 0:35:59This was a lovely brief, in that it was set by the church's flower guild.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03I've got an arrangement of flowers associated with the seasons,
0:36:03 > 0:36:05then this strong kind of cross,
0:36:05 > 0:36:10which is hopefully going to be striking against this dark purple background.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14So this is the first stage. This is called the vidimus.
0:36:14 > 0:36:19So it starts with initial pencil sketches, then you develop it up to colour.
0:36:19 > 0:36:25From that, you scale them up to full-size, and this is what's called a cartoon.
0:36:25 > 0:36:31- I've also indicated the actual leads on there as well, by these black lines.- Right.
0:36:31 > 0:36:36So the cartoon really remains your point of reference for the painting and preparing the glass.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39Yeah, very much so. It's key to the whole design.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56So it's by tracing with paint that the design on paper
0:36:56 > 0:37:00is transferred onto the individual pieces of glass.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37So, Helen, what part of the process are we at now?
0:37:37 > 0:37:40So this is how I go about glass painting.
0:37:40 > 0:37:41I do the trace lines
0:37:41 > 0:37:46and then I'll do what's called the shading, the matting, afterwards.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50This glass is quite unusual in that it's called a flash glass.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54You can see it's red, but it's actually two layers.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57It's actually predominantly yellow with a flash of red on top.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01What I've done here is taken away the red layer
0:38:01 > 0:38:03to reveal the yellow underneath.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07Is this something that would have happened in the medieval period?
0:38:07 > 0:38:08It would have done,
0:38:08 > 0:38:11but this would have been done probably by a pumice stone,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14by some poor chap rubbing away for many hours.
0:38:14 > 0:38:19Today, we're using acids, which eat away at the surface to reveal the yellow beneath.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23Gives a lovely effect, doesn't it, the two types of glass?
0:38:23 > 0:38:27- Yeah.- So depending on how you apply the paint,
0:38:27 > 0:38:30- you can get these different effects and textures?- Yeah.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33It's all about modulating the light, at the end of the day.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37And then, once you've completed building up the paint...
0:38:37 > 0:38:40There's the firing of the glass.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43The pigments of the glass powder mixed with it.
0:38:43 > 0:38:48What this does is, when you come to firing the glass, the glass is slightly tacky at that stage.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53The pigment with the glass powder in it adheres to the surface so they bond together,
0:38:53 > 0:38:55- making it permanent.- Right.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03Finally, the pieces of painted glass have to be assembled
0:39:03 > 0:39:06and held in place with strips of lead.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32So we had the leading process and it was soldered.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35And here we have it, the finished piece,
0:39:35 > 0:39:37ready, hopefully, to be fitted into the church.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49It's absolutely beautiful.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51I'm absolutely stunned by the finished product,
0:39:51 > 0:39:54and seeing the way that it's got to this stage,
0:39:54 > 0:39:56this collaborative artistic process
0:39:56 > 0:40:00has made me appreciate stained glass all the more.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11For the medieval church,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14having these technical and artistic skills to hand
0:40:14 > 0:40:18allowed for the creation of enormous narrative works of art
0:40:18 > 0:40:21to instruct and inspire worshippers.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32For us today, these are windows onto the medieval mind,
0:40:32 > 0:40:36revealing how people thought about the Christian faith at the time.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47And most revealing of all are the 81 panels of the East Window
0:40:47 > 0:40:49depicting scenes from the Book of Revelation,
0:40:49 > 0:40:53the Biblical prophecy of the end of the world
0:40:53 > 0:40:57that became a popular obsession in the Middle Ages.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08Revelation was written by Saint John of Patmos,
0:41:08 > 0:41:12a first-century Christian who was persecuted for his faith
0:41:12 > 0:41:15and exiled from Rome.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22John foresees Christ's Second Coming at the End of Time,
0:41:22 > 0:41:25when the Earth will be destroyed.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31Good will triumph over evil.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39And the dead will rise for the Last Judgment.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46And when you hear them read today,
0:41:46 > 0:41:49John's descriptions of these apocalyptic events
0:41:49 > 0:41:52are still some of the most mesmerising passages
0:41:52 > 0:41:55in all of the New Testament.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets
0:42:06 > 0:42:08made ready to blow them.
0:42:11 > 0:42:17The first angel blew his trumpet and there followed hail and fire
0:42:17 > 0:42:20mixed with blood which fell on the Earth,
0:42:20 > 0:42:24and a third of the Earth was burnt up,
0:42:24 > 0:42:27and a third of the trees were burnt up
0:42:27 > 0:42:30and all green grass was burnt up.
0:42:32 > 0:42:37The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain,
0:42:37 > 0:42:40burning with fire, was thrown into the sea,
0:42:40 > 0:42:44and a third of the sea became blood,
0:42:44 > 0:42:47a third of the living creatures in the sea died,
0:42:47 > 0:42:51and a third of the ships were destroyed.
0:42:52 > 0:42:57The third angel blew his trumpet and a great star fell from heaven,
0:42:57 > 0:43:00blazing like a torch.
0:43:01 > 0:43:06And it fell on a third of the rivers and on a fountain of water.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12The name of the star is Wormwood.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16A third of the waters became Wormwood.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20And many men died of the water,
0:43:20 > 0:43:23because it was made bitter.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36Although Revelation is a book of prophecy,
0:43:36 > 0:43:41it gives no clues as to exactly when the end of the world will come.
0:43:49 > 0:43:54The great dread, of course, was that it might be imminent.
0:43:57 > 0:44:02So Christians needed to be ready to have their souls judged by God.
0:44:08 > 0:44:12The apocalypse became a hugely popular theme in medieval art,
0:44:12 > 0:44:15and not only in the great cathedrals.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17If you were sufficiently wealthy,
0:44:17 > 0:44:20you might own an illuminated manuscript.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25If you were not so well-off, you wouldn't have to look far
0:44:25 > 0:44:29to find the same story on a church window or a wall.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44I'm standing in the parish church of All Saint's North Street,
0:44:44 > 0:44:47just a stone's throw from York Minster.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51People grew up in these buildings. They were baptised,
0:44:51 > 0:44:54married and buried with these stained-glass images
0:44:54 > 0:44:57accompanying them through their lives.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02And what do we find? Another version of the apocalypse.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07The Pricke of Conscience window is one of those
0:45:07 > 0:45:10thought to have been made by John Thornton's workshop,
0:45:10 > 0:45:13shortly after the East Window in the Minster.
0:45:15 > 0:45:19What makes it unique is the apocalypse story it depicts,
0:45:19 > 0:45:24which comes not from the Bible, but from a 14th-century poem
0:45:24 > 0:45:28written in Middle English, probably in Yorkshire.
0:45:30 > 0:45:35Here, we see the last 15 days of the world,
0:45:35 > 0:45:37when the seas will burn,
0:45:37 > 0:45:41the land will be levelled by earthquakes
0:45:41 > 0:45:45and, finally, all living things will die.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54It was another terrible reminder to the medieval onlooker
0:45:54 > 0:45:57that the destruction of the Earth and everything on it
0:45:57 > 0:46:01was part of God's plan to save the faithful.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03And only the faithful.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10What the Pricke of Conscience window shows me is that stained glass
0:46:10 > 0:46:15could communicate the same message in the same medium, about penitence,
0:46:15 > 0:46:20salvation and the end of the world, but to different audiences.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22Here, you see dramatic images
0:46:22 > 0:46:25alongside vernacular inscriptions
0:46:25 > 0:46:29in a verbal and visual language that everyone could understand.
0:46:29 > 0:46:34Because the apocalypse is the single most important event
0:46:34 > 0:46:36for all Christians.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49So the East Window at York Minster
0:46:49 > 0:46:54was part of a great medieval tradition of apocalypse narratives.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59But the window presents the story in purely visual terms,
0:46:59 > 0:47:01which is why it's so important
0:47:01 > 0:47:05to preserve as many of the pictorial details as possible.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13The conservation team at York Glaziers Trust
0:47:13 > 0:47:16are hoping to have completed their work
0:47:16 > 0:47:18on the 81 panels that tell the story of the apocalypse
0:47:18 > 0:47:21within the next five years.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26So what are the main differences that people will notice
0:47:26 > 0:47:28once the panels are all restored?
0:47:28 > 0:47:33Well, I think people will notice more glass. They'll see more glass.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37The reason for that is that the gauge of lead we're using
0:47:37 > 0:47:39is much finer.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42It's more akin to the medieval, original lead.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45We can then move on to use more modern techniques.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47For example, adhesives.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53So where a piece of glass is broken into a number of fragments,
0:47:53 > 0:47:57we can edge-bond those pieces back together again,
0:47:57 > 0:48:01and you can see the piece as it was intended to be seen.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08The most sensitive part of the process involves the recreation
0:48:08 > 0:48:12of pieces of painted glass that have been lost over the centuries.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22We have an example here of the book.
0:48:22 > 0:48:26You can see here the seals on the book.
0:48:26 > 0:48:31So far, that piece has been repaired and bonded,
0:48:31 > 0:48:33but we have this much missing.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37You can't really tell what's happening here.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39So, in rare cases like this,
0:48:39 > 0:48:42we can actually paint in the missing piece.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45- So this is a new piece of glass? - That's right.
0:48:45 > 0:48:49- Gosh, it's painted so beautifully. Wow!- There's a new bit which fits
0:48:49 > 0:48:54- into there like...- Gosh!
0:48:54 > 0:48:57you see exactly what's intended to be seen.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00- Yes.- The book is now very clear.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09Once the pieces have been repaired in this way,
0:49:09 > 0:49:13they can be re-assembled within a framework of new lead.
0:49:15 > 0:49:17Tony Cattle will be responsible
0:49:17 > 0:49:21for re-leading all the conserved panels.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27Wow. So this is where it is all coming together.
0:49:27 > 0:49:31Yeah. This is not the final stage,
0:49:31 > 0:49:34but we're getting towards the end
0:49:34 > 0:49:39- of the conservation, if you like. - So you're putting in new leads.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41We're putting in new leads all the way.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44They've been completely re-leaded.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47- And it looks like a proper painting now, doesn't it?- It does, yeah.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51That's the idea, really, to make it look like a proper painting
0:49:51 > 0:49:53without noticing the lead so much.
0:49:53 > 0:49:57- It's where art meets practicalities, isn't it?- It is, yes.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00- Because you've used the wider lead to outline the figures.- Yeah.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04That helps them stand out, but I suppose it's also to keep it strong.
0:50:04 > 0:50:09Yeah, you do need some substance there, you know. Some strength.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13- Is it very hard to do the leading on this?- Not really, no.
0:50:13 > 0:50:19- This piece is particularly easy. It's the angel's foot.- Can I have a go?
0:50:19 > 0:50:21- Yeah, sure.- My goodness.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23Wow, it feels so fragile.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26- It has actually been bonded there. - Yeah, be careful of the bond.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29So what happens next?
0:50:29 > 0:50:31Well, really you just need the lead
0:50:31 > 0:50:34that you're going to use for that,
0:50:34 > 0:50:36which is a 5mm piece.
0:50:36 > 0:50:41- Then, to find the length you needed, you would stand it on one end.- OK.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44- And roll it round as if it was a ball.- Like this?- Yeah.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47- And then go like that?- Come back to that point there.- OK, I understand.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50- How's that?- That's fine, yeah. Just a little bit bent.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53So just a little bit, because it's got bends.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56- What do I do now? I'd better put the glass down.- Yeah.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59- A sharp knife is...- The most important tool?- Yeah.
0:50:59 > 0:51:01So, cut?
0:51:01 > 0:51:04- Cut directly down.- Like that? - That's it.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06Oh, wow. OK.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08- And then we take the... - You take the glass.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11Looking at that, it wants to end at that point there.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15- OK, so we need to give it a bit of an overlap, like that.- Yeah.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18And then slowly
0:51:18 > 0:51:21- manipulate the lead to fit each. - To fit into the facets.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25Right in, because the next piece of glass will be going up to that edge.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28My goodness. It's quite malleable once you work out the tension.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31- Yes, it's quite soft.- There you go.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34- And around this turn.- Bring it around that end.- Oh, my goodness me.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38- So just keep following the line? - Keep following the shape of the glass, yeah.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40And then try and get it back
0:51:40 > 0:51:44- into position.- Yep. Mm-hm.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48Oh, my goodness. What an experience. Thank you.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51- Wow.- Just to finish it off,
0:51:51 > 0:51:54really, you just need to put a nail in to hold it either side.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57- Thank you for the opportunity. - You're very welcome.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59And for trusting me with such a fragile material!
0:52:01 > 0:52:03Of course, this is only one panel.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07There are 311 in the whole window. But it's a real privilege
0:52:07 > 0:52:10to have been allowed to make even a tiny contribution
0:52:10 > 0:52:12to such important work.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15A project which, it is hoped, will transform
0:52:15 > 0:52:18not just our experience of the East Window
0:52:18 > 0:52:22but of the whole Minster.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24CHORAL MUSIC
0:52:30 > 0:52:32I wanted to get a sense of the atmosphere
0:52:32 > 0:52:36when the building is being used as a place of worship,
0:52:36 > 0:52:39which, after all, is its primary purpose.
0:52:43 > 0:52:47And when you do that, you really appreciate just how affecting
0:52:47 > 0:52:54the experience of light, space and sounds in a great cathedral can be,
0:52:54 > 0:52:57for everyone involved.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03If you say worship in a great cathedral is like theatre,
0:53:03 > 0:53:06I'd have to say, yes, it is.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08But of course it's not fiction, it's reality.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11So when you have the daily acts
0:53:11 > 0:53:14of worship happening here,
0:53:14 > 0:53:18you do it in this setting of a great encounter
0:53:18 > 0:53:21which is going on. And the encounter can be described
0:53:21 > 0:53:24in all sorts of ways. It's heaven and earth,
0:53:24 > 0:53:27it's time and eternity, it's mortality versus immortality,
0:53:27 > 0:53:29it's humanity and God.
0:53:29 > 0:53:34And they're brought together in this very carefully designed place.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40And light is something
0:53:40 > 0:53:43which is a real actor on the stage.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46Light is the thing that pours through.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49Light is the thing that is God.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54So what do you anticipate will be the effect,
0:53:54 > 0:53:56when the East Window's back in situ?
0:53:56 > 0:53:59You'll be able to see much more what's going on
0:53:59 > 0:54:01and that will be, in itself,
0:54:01 > 0:54:03very important. Being able to read
0:54:03 > 0:54:08a building like this is an art we want everyone to develop.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10At one time, I guess a lot of people
0:54:10 > 0:54:14would instinctively have known, because they knew the stories
0:54:14 > 0:54:18of Genesis and the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22Now, in order to get on board with what's happening,
0:54:22 > 0:54:25we'll be able to give them the right information
0:54:25 > 0:54:28at the time they're looking at it.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31This should increase their enjoyment of it enormously.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41Then a new heaven and a new Earth,
0:54:41 > 0:54:45for the first heaven and the first Earth had passed away
0:54:45 > 0:54:49and the sea was no more.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53And I saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem,
0:54:53 > 0:54:55coming down out of heaven from God,
0:54:55 > 0:54:59prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03And I heard a loud voice from the throne
0:55:03 > 0:55:08saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men.
0:55:08 > 0:55:12"He will dwell with them and they shall be his people
0:55:12 > 0:55:15"and God himself will be with them.
0:55:15 > 0:55:20"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes
0:55:20 > 0:55:23"and death shall be no more.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26"Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying,
0:55:26 > 0:55:28"nor pain any more.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32"for the former things have passed away."
0:55:35 > 0:55:37And he who sat upon the throne
0:55:37 > 0:55:41said, "Behold, I make all things new.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47"I am the Alpha and the Omega,
0:55:47 > 0:55:51"the beginning and the end."
0:56:02 > 0:56:06Stained glass has been called the Poor Man's Bible,
0:56:06 > 0:56:10and you only have to look at John Thornton's East Window to see why.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24These panels gave people images to carry in their minds
0:56:24 > 0:56:28together with the message they heard from the pulpit,
0:56:28 > 0:56:32that they should strive to be one of the saved.
0:56:40 > 0:56:44Of all the traditional visual arts, I think that stained glass
0:56:44 > 0:56:46has a unique capacity
0:56:46 > 0:56:49to communicate stories on a public scale.
0:56:49 > 0:56:54But it can also illuminate changing attitudes across time.
0:56:54 > 0:57:00To the medieval mind, the East Window was a portal
0:57:00 > 0:57:04onto an eternal paradise after this fleeting life on Earth.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07But now the light pouring through
0:57:07 > 0:57:09these centuries-old images
0:57:09 > 0:57:11affects us differently.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16We've no trouble imagining back millions of years
0:57:16 > 0:57:18to the birth of stars,
0:57:18 > 0:57:21and yet our attitudes to life after death
0:57:21 > 0:57:24are much more individual.
0:57:25 > 0:57:30The window is no longer speaking to one community of people
0:57:30 > 0:57:31with a common faith.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35We all understand its message differently.
0:57:35 > 0:57:39What was once a universal truth has become a question of choice.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44So now, instead of looking through the glass,
0:57:44 > 0:57:49we see in it a reflection of our own ideas and beliefs.
0:58:31 > 0:58:34Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:34 > 0:58:37E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk