Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting, Aberdeen

Almost all pre-Reformation glass in Scotland was completely destroyed by John Knox’s 16th century Protestant Reformers.  Consequently, between the 16th and 19th centuries, any glass in Scottish churches was austere, and very simple, utilitarian glazing, and unlike anything which was appearing in windows south of the border. In the early / mid-19th century, after the “Disruption of 1843”, an artistic revolution began to appear in the windows in Scotland, which could finally include “representational” art.

The beautiful tracery windows are from this seminal period, around 1843, and are the earliest painted glass within the building, having remarkably survived a fire around 1870. They each are made from three very large pieces of glass, which have been hand-painted and stained like porcelain. They are delicately leaded together and fitted directly into the stonework. That they survive at all is astonishing. Below them are walls of plain zinc quarry glazing, which was extremely popular and functional throughout the East coast of Scotland during the early– mid 19th century, from Shetland to the Borders. Both the tracery and the zinc glass in the gallery are easily overlooked by the exuberance of glass at the lower level.