New window marks 25th anniversary of Rosslyn Chapel Trust

A new stained-glass window was unveiled in Rosslyn Chapel last week to mark the 25th anniversary of Rosslyn Chapel Trust, the charity founded in 1995 to oversee its conservation.
The Countess of Rosslyn with the new stained glass window (Photo by Rob McDougall)The Countess of Rosslyn with the new stained glass window (Photo by Rob McDougall)
The Countess of Rosslyn with the new stained glass window (Photo by Rob McDougall)

The window - the first to be installed in 50 years - is the work of renowned artist Joe Tilson RA.

Joe Tilson is one of the leading figures associated with the British Pop Art movement in the 1960s. He studied at St. Martin’s School of Art and at the Royal College of Art in the 1950s alongside Peter Blake and David Hockney.

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The Earl and Countess of Rosslyn, who established Rosslyn Chapel Trust, said: “We have long admired Joe’s work. His recent series The Stones of Venice and his award-winning stained-glass at the 2019 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition convinced us that he was the perfect artist for this project.”

The new window continues a tradition of stained-glass commissions at the Chapel, begun in the 1860s by the fourth Earl of Rosslyn. He engaged acclaimed designers Clayton & Bell to produce the windows in the Lady Chapel in memory of his parents. From 1950 to 1971, three were commissioned by the sixth Earl of Rosslyn, designed by Patrick Pollen, Carrick Whalen and William Wilson.

The new window has been created by the Scottish Glass Studios in Glasgow, working to Tilson’s design.

Mark Bambrough, Director of Scottish Glass Studios, said: ‘Scottish Glass Studios have been involved with the conservation and protection of Rosslyn Chapel's stained-glass since 2009. The Chapel has a collection of windows that has been appreciated and interpreted by the congregation and visitors alike for the last 150 years and so to make a new window, to complement the old, was a delight.”

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The new window marks the 25th anniversary of Rosslyn Chapel Trust, a charity founded in December 1995 to oversee the conservation and public opening of the Chapel. It is now also responsible for the conservation of nearby Rosslyn Castle, Collegehill House and a stretch of Roslin Glen.

Since its foundation, it has overseen a major 17-year conservation programme at the Chapel, the construction of an award-winning Visitor Centre and has undertaken a conservation programme at Collegehill.

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