~ Papa Stour ~

In 2009, Rab MacInnes and myself were asked to have a look at a remote, unusual window in Papa Stour, an isolated island off the Shetland Mainland.

The window was made by Victor Rainbird,  from Yorkshire, in 1921.  It was made in memory of six islanders who died in WW1. Beautifully painted, it is the only window in existence by this artist.

The window was completely sealed on the outside with silicon and very thick perspex. We decided to dismantle the window piece by piece, in-situ, to allow us to get back on the return ferry, otherwise we would have been stuck on the island for three days.

Back in the studio in Glasgow, I carefully looked at the surface of the glass using a binocular microscope, to make sure what was dirt and what was corrosion. It turned out to be a very interesting mix of both.

I carefully re-leaded the window, and we took it back to Papa Stour for safe re-installation.