St. Bartholomews, Kent

Insulead® Fixed Units · Steelyte® opening casements · encapsulated leaded lights

The Building

St Bartholomews is a medieval Grade II* listed parish church, which was abandoned in the early 17th century and is set in the middle of the ancient village of Layston. The roof had been removed back in 1954 when it became dangerous and was in a derelict condition with a large tree growing in the middle, when it was bought by its current owner’s Mandy and Martin.

The Brief

Mandy and Martin bought St Bartholomews and their plan was to completely restore it as a home for them to live in and for it to be saved for the next 300 years. Mandy and Martin wanted a window system that not only had excellent insulating properties, but also looked in keeping with the beauty aesthetics of the medieval building. The church had no existing glazing with no evidence of how the original windows looked. As the building is Grade II* listed any glazing would need to be approved by English Heritage, therefore the design of the new windows and the protection of the historic fabric of the building was of paramount importance. Martin and Mandy also wanted to stamp their own individual mark on the building and requested a number of painted and fired grotesques to be included in the leaded lights to be put in the porch.

The Specification

Genuine diamond leaded lights with red and blue borders encapsulated into high performance BFRC “A” Rated double glazed units for the main body of the Church. Painted and fired grotesque of bees and unusual mythical creatures to the clients designs, leaded into genuine leaded lights encapsulated into high performance BFRC “A” Rated high performance double glazed units for the porch area. Kiln modified glass to outer panes.

The Solution

After consultation with the clients and onsite meetings with the conservation officer from English Heritage. It was decided that our Insulead®  units, with genuine encapsulated leaded lights would offer a possible solution. The conservation officer was very interested in the fact that no modification to the fabric of the building was needed. It was decided that a sample window was needed for one of the shaped top openings to help with the decision. The conservation officer did raise a concern that the new windows may look too flat and modern and would potentially have a double reflection. We offered our kiln modified glass on the outer pane as a solution. A sample was made of a diamond leaded light with a red border and amber jewels. This was encapsulated into a high performance double glazed unit with our kiln modified glass on the outer pane. After another meeting with English Heritage the sample window was approved. The conservation officer was really pleased with the overall look and was particularly impressed with the kiln modified glass and the absence of a double reflexion. The job was extended to include the restoration of some painted and fired panels which were subsequently fitted in a bathroom.

The Response

On our visits to St Bartholomew’s were always very interesting as Mandy was researching the church and its history. On one visit we met many of the late inhabitants of the church including Norman - a skeleton dating back to Norman times which had to be exhumed in order to be moved into the chancel which as part of the agreement of the sale has to be left open to the public. The completed job was very successful, both the client and English Heritage were very pleased with the finished windows. Mandy and Martin have in fact become good friends and Dave one of our directors is now known as Comedy Dave by them. You can read more about why this name came about in their Buntingford journals

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