Apothecary 2020

The Parlour Stained Glass Windows Project
Four years ago and in my capacity as the Chairman of
the Livery Committee at the time, I discussed the idea of
brightening up the Parlour with stained glass with
William Shand, not only a Past Master but also someone
with a keen interest in stained glass and a practitioner of
the art. The idea was mainly to celebrate the Society’s
Quatercentenary - little did I realise what a long road it
would be! We felt the appropriate theme would be
medicinal plants.
I set about finding the necessary 22 donors, with the
Livery Committee donating the remaining two panes. I
have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the donors
and surprised by the speed with which I secured
commitments for the complete set of panes. The artists
were given a comprehensive brief, prescriptive in the
basic “structural” lead design and that of the cartouche,
to promote cohesion across the windows, but allowing
freedom of artistic expression in the central main panel of
the pane.
There have been a number of problems to overcome.
The current back lighting of the windows is inadequate
and not matched from window to window and is going
to be replaced with the very latest LED lighting sheets.
The right hand window is very much older than the left
and the measurements are not consistent nor the corners
at right angles. Would the frames take the weight of the
leaded panes? We have been assured that they will.
The Covid pandemic has slowed progress on the
project. However, one small positive outcome of the
pandemic is that it will give us the opportunity to install
new back lighting and all the panes in one process rather
than piecemeal with multiple upheavals. Unless a miracle
happens, I believe this is unlikely to happen until next
year, (ie 2021).
The donors chose their plant and agreed it with me, to
ensure there were no duplications, and then chose their
artist. The artists then submitted a “sketch” to be agreed
by the donor and by William and me to ensure the donor
was happy and that there would be no glaring misfits
among the panes.
At the time of writing (late August 2020), 12 of the 24
panes have been completed and the remaining 12 are
being worked on. The positioning of the panes and
overall design of the windows have evolved as the
individual pane designs have come in. Below I have set
out the panes for which I have sketches or photos, either
as a black and white sketch, a coloured sketch, the final
glass design but not yet leaded or a photo of the
completed (but not back lit) pane. I have also given a
thumb nail sketch of the medicinal uses of each plant. The
choice of plants for the windows is as exciting as it is
diverse.
The choices are:-
Foxglove
Donated by William Shand. The plant
has powerful diuretic properties.
Digitalis is derived from the plant and
used in congestive cardiac failure and
dysrhythmias especially atrial
fibrillation and atrial flutter.
Donated by the staff of the Clerk’s
Office. The fruit has been used in the
treatment of cancer, osteoarthritis and
other diseases. It has been used in
natural and holistic medicine too to
treat sore throats, coughs, urinary
infections, digestive disorders, skin
disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, and to
expel tapeworms.
Pomegranate
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