Bill's Lecture - Wollescote & Kinver
 

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Introduction

Introduction

 

Bill's Lecture

Early Days
(Lagos, Oldbury,Langley)

Lye & Stambermill

Oldswinford & Stourbridge

Brierley Hill

Cradley Heath, Cradley & Dudley

Wollescote & Kinver

 

Additional Material

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Other Works

Bill at Work

Summary

 
At St Andrew’s church Wollescote the architects made sketches of what they wanted the Baptistry window there to look like – showing the Flames of the Trinity – and this is how that one came out.

  
 


St Andrew’s Church, Wollescote
Window made by Bill Pardoe

There are also two small windows, one each side of the main window, which are typical of Bill Pardoe's work.

 

  
  As you know the North Aisle of Kinver church, which is just over one hundred years old, is falling apart and if no remedial measures are taken it will collapse and probably pull down the rest of the church with it. The church authorities put forward a scheme to put this right which entailed bringing the roof straight down to about seven feet from the nave level. But the modest plans of the church were given the thumbs down by Seisdon R.D.C. There was nothing unusual in this for by all accounts which we read in the papers, they turn down everyone’s plans, except of course their own, as when they seek to chromium plate some of the medieval buildings in the High Street.

Eventually, after a couple of inflationary building years the arguments came to public enquiry and the case was heard by the Ministry’s Inspector at Wombourn. In the morning the pros and cons were well and truly weighed up but at the afternoon session the RDC and County Council presented all present with a 24-page handout. Four pages of this were some two thousand words devoted to the stained glass windows at the church and although the church’s representative objected to these being ornaments over which the planning authority had no power of veto, the inspector decided to hear the RDC’s views. The views of these laymen were ridiculous but plans were put forward to refute them. After a further inflationary six months the Minister of the Environment gave the church planning permission and said it was not up to him or his inspector to tell the church what to do with the stained glass windows, which was quite correct. Neither the RDC or the County Council have any competence to be able to discuss the stained glass which is with the supreme jurisdiction of the church and Diocesan Advisory Board.”



 		  
 

This appears to be the end of Bill’s notes on stained glass