Stained Glass.A sense
of place.
Shaped by years of photographing, travelling, looking and listening - these are the journeys, encounters and discoveries that have stayed with me.
“English cathedral stained glass - as a single collection - collectively and over 900 years constitutes one of England’s greatest but least considered art collections.”Janet Gough - Divine Light
An Illuminated
Journey.
In April 2025 I was tasked with travelling to seven English cathedrals and one Royal Peculiar to photograph stained glass for Janet Gough’s book Divine Light. The work took me more than 1,000 miles across the country - sleeping in Woody, rising before dawn and learning the character of each building through its changing light.
The road behind the photographs
Travel the length and breadth of England with me - through early starts, cold nights in the van, unexpected encounters and the changing light behind the finished images.
Into the world of glass
My personal insight into the singular world of stained glass - and the ideas, colour and atmosphere held within the book.
Divine Light
Discover Janet Gough’s pocketable guide to 900 years of stained glass - illustrated with photography from my journey.
Twelve months of cathedral light
My Carlisle east window photograph is on the cover, with several more images inside.
Windows that
hold a story.
My encounters with stained glass have shown me how a pane can carry grief, devotion, politics, memory and hope. Through these visits and photographs, I explore what happens when a window becomes more than decoration and begins to alter our relationship with a place.
Ruth's Window - holding on to what is good
I found a modern memorial window in which loss is given form, colour and the possibility of renewal.
An ecology of memory in glass
At York I followed the continuous line connecting pilgrimage, story, architecture and John Thornton's medieval figures.
The same light, in the same place
Photographing glass installed in 1306 brought me within sight of the people who first stood before it.
Stained glass softens the mood, loosens the geometry and provides moments of magic.
Where light
is shaped.
I was fortunate to spend time with Tom Denny in his studio, camera in hand, as he worked among pigment, glass and half-light. Later I followed the work to St John at Tisbury. These visits allowed me to witness - rather than explain - how an idea becomes a window, and how the window is changed again by the place that receives it.
In the place where light is shaped
Photographing Tom at work among pigment, glass and the ideas from which a window slowly emerges.
When the window meets the building
Encountering Tom’s completed work within St John and discovering what it gives to the people who gather there.
The Tisbury window
Spend time with the finished glass - its layers of colour, narrative and emotion opened up in detail.
See the familiar world afresh.
If stained glass gives you another way into a place, come with me. The Digest follows the light, craft and human stories held by buildings and landscapes across Britain. It is published weekly - subscribe for free.
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