Alf Webster: Glasgow’s Lost Genius, Discussion

Alf Webster: Glasgow’s Lost Genius, Peter Aiers

Peter will talk about the wider use of historic churches for an increasingly secular community. He will discuss how to blend a sustainable future use whilst still understanding the historic nature of the building and respecting the former spiritual use. It is important that future generations are able to see the history of their communities embedded in the fabric of the building. No building tells the story of a place like the parish church does.

Peter Aiers joined the Churches Conservation Trust in 2007 and set up the Regeneration Taskforce to find solutions to complex historic church problems and enable more community involvement in the care and maintenance of our wonderful portfolio. He became Director for the South East in 2012 with a specific responsibility for overall Operational Management. Peter has raised well over £12m since being with the CCT and has led on several innovative projects such as the award winning All Souls Bolton, Champing and St Peter and the Old Black Lion.

Alf Webster: G(l)azing into the world of Stained Glass Conservation, Meredith Macbeth

G(l)azing into the world of Stained Glass Conservation, will give an introduction to the method and techniques behind the conservation and restoration of 19 & 20th century stained glass. A review of the present stained glass conservation field will be discussed, as will future hopes be considered in order for Scotland to preserve its own unique stained glass heritage.

Meredith Macbeth is a self employed stained/leaded glass maker and conservator based outside of Edinburgh. Her Master’s degree from the University of Lincoln studied the Conservation of Historic Objects and after working for several years in stone and architectural
conservation, she was drawn to the world of stained glass where conservation and craft are so closely entwined. Meredith has worked in several stained glass studios in the United States along with completing an internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Meredith currently works with the Scottish Stained Glass Symposium and Trust, which is undertaking the mammoth task of recording all Scottish stained glass and developing their online database.

Alf Webster: Glasgow’s Lost Genius, David Robertson

David Robertson describes how Alf Webster’s great south transept window, currently awaiting restoration, contains imagery to suggest that William Blake could have been an inspiration both illustratively and thematically for the artist.

David Robertson is the Director of Four Acres Charitable Trust, the owners of Cottiers and a Trustee of Websters in the West End of Glasgow, soon to be completed by its sister charity FACT THREE.

Alf Webster: Glasgow’s Lost Genius, Prof John Hume

Prof. Hume discusses the career of Glaswegian architect John Honeyman, the man responsible for the design of numerous ecclesiastical buildings around Glasgow, including Lansdowne Church, the venue for our conference, now a venue secured by the Four Acres Charitable Trust.

Professor John Hume OBE is an Honorary Professor at both the Universities of Glasgow and St. Andrews. He was a lecturer in Economic and Industrial History at the University of Strathclyde. After a career with Historic Scotland as an Inspector of Scotland’s Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings, he eventually retired as Chief Inspector of Historic Buildings in 1999. Prof. Hume is currently a Chairman for the the Royal Commission of Ancient and Historic Monuments and an Advisor to the Church of Scotland General Trustees Fabric Committee. He lives in Glasgow and was instrumental in setting up many local heritage organisation such as the Forth & Clyde Canal Society and has written major reference books on Glasgow’s Industrial Heritage. John is the Patron of Glasgow City Heritage Trust.

Alf Webster: Glasgow’s Lost Genius, Gordon Urquhart

Gordon R Urquhart is the Postgraduate Course Director with Historic Environment Scotland. Gordon is the author of A Notable Ornament:Lansdowne Church – an icon of Victorian Glasgow.

Of the countless new churches to emerge in mid-Victorian Glasgow, few stoked as much controversy as Lansdowne United Presbyterian. The author of A Notable Ornament examines the events and personalities surrounding the construction of the Kelvinbridge landmark, and chart its early history through to 1915 and Alf Webster’s windows.

Alf Webster: It’s All About Alf, Karen Mailley-Watt

Karen Mailley-Watt has an MA Joint (Hons) and an MLitt in Decorative Arts & Design History from the University of Glasgow. Until October 2016 Karen was the Heritage & Outreach Officer for Glasgow City Heritage Trust and was the head organiser for the Glasgow’s Gilded Age Project. She is a Trustee and advisor to the Scottish Stained Glass Symposium & Trust, and helped to establish Scotland’s first on-line stained glass database. She is currently an SGSAH ARCS funded PhD Candidate at the University of Glasgow & The Glasgow School of Art.

Glamour & Grit: The Grammar of Glamour: Glasgow Style, Dr Robyne Erica Calvert

As the Mackintosh Research Fellow, Dr Robyne Erica Calvert is charged with fostering innovative research projects arising from the reconstruction of the Mackintosh Building. She was previously a lecturer in history and theory (HAUS and FoCI) at GSA, and is also a visiting lecturer in art and design history at the University of Glasgow.

She spent ten years as a museum administrator and educator before returning to academia. She received a Pasold Fund PhD bursary for her thesis ‘Fashioning the Artist: Artistic Dress in Victorian Britain, 1848-1900’ (University of Glasgow, 2012). Additionally, her master’s research was focused on the collaborative work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, and as such she also writes and lectures on the ‘Glasgow Style’ artists, architects and designers.

Glamour & Grit: Holmwood House, Ian Gow

Holmwood House

Ian Gow was appointed Curator of the National Trust for Scotland in 1998. He had previously been Curator of Architectural Collections at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. He is the author of several books and many articles on the decorative arts and architecture of Scotland.

Glamour & Grit: Gilding the lily – Daniel Cottier and the Aesthetic Interior, Max Donnelly

Gilding the lily: Daniel Cottier and the Aesthetic Interior

Max Donnelly FSA is Curator of Nineteenth-Century Furniture at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. He has lectured and broadcast on aspects of nineteenth-century design, including for the BBC2 series The Genius of Design (2010). A contributor to several scholarly journals, his article on Vincent van Gogh and Daniel Cottier was published in The Burlington Magazine (September 2011).