St Mary and All Saints Rivenhall, Stained Glass

Conservation of stained glass in St Mary and All Saint Church, Rivenhall. The eat window contains a collection of panels dating from the 12th,13th,15th and 16th centuries. They were brought to England in 1839 by the Reverend Bradford Hawkins, who acquired them from the church of La Chenu, near Tours in France. It is not known how he came to buy them but there is some evidence that they were sold to pay for repairs to the church. It is not unusual to find collections of continental stained glass in English parish churches, but it is most exceptional to find so many panels of such an early date. The glass was in urgent need of conservation.