Conservation & Heritage Issue 50 Winter 2025/Spring 2026 - Flipbook - Page 72
Above, arched doors with a delicately shaped overhead transom and
slim side panels. St Mary’s Church, Balcombe.
Ion will design glass screens to perfectly fit the arches,
including frameless glass doors to access the space. The use
of minimal fixtures and fittings, discreet patch fittings and
concealed closers will result in little or no visible frame and
minimal hardware. Computer aided measuring techniques
ensure the glass fits flawlessly, even around corbels, pillars
and hand-carved stone.
The glass screens fitted into the arched narthex at St Dionis
Church in Parson’s Green were made in switchable glass to
create a private meeting room when required. The frameless
glass door in the central arch gives the whole installation a
congruent finish.
Above, glass doors at St Paul’s Church, Hadley Wood, featuring a
hand-crafted aluminium frame to create a stunning arched entrance
Internal frameless glass doors
Re-ordering churches to meet contemporary needs has
become much more common: in-filling internal arches with
a glass screen divides up the interior to create smaller spaces
and meeting rooms as well as having a significant impact on
heating costs and helping towards achieving net-zero.
“
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Some of the churches we work in have huge internal
arches - whilst these are architecturally significant, the
interior is simply too big for modern congregations and
difficult to heat. A number of smaller spaces allows for
a variety of community endeavours or places to work
and engage.”
Above, privacy glass screens and door at St Dionis
Conservation & Heritage Journal
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