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Stained Glass by Tom Denny at Hereford Cathedral.
With glas
Were al the wyndowes wel y-glased
Ful clere, and nat a hol y-crased,
That to beholde hit was gret joye:
For hoolly al the storie of Troy
Was in the glasyng y-wrought thus.
Geoffrey Chaucer.
I'm in Dorset at the studio of stained glass artist Tom Denny, spending the morning photographing him as he works on a new east window for St. John’s Church in Tisbury, Wiltshire.
Tom’s work can be seen in many churches and cathedrals, including the cathedrals at Gloucester, Hereford, Durham, and Leicester. Other buildings include St. Catherine’s College in Cambridge, St. John’s, Tralee, and Holy Trinity Church, New York.
Tom’s studio is in his garden, and it feels like a real privilege to be allowed beyond the threshold into his place of work. Inside, whilst I’m changing lenses from my bag, I look up and see Tom working on a glass canvas that is temporarily suspended in wax against a double height window blocked out with textiles.
Tom is chiaroscuro against the coloured glass and, through my lens, at times, he looks as though he has transformed into an etched protagonist within the glass.
This is a place of half-light, where ideas ignite in a murky soup that verges on alchemy. Here, received light is sculpted, shaped, and transformed into palpable emotion. I can’t help but feel that within the confines of these studio walls, Tom, in giving literacy to light, is inhabiting his own earthly paradise.
Tom modulates the light like a conductor orchestrates music.
He is thinking through the overall design, the colour, line, and translucency, the curtilage of the window, the viewer's perspective, the arc of the sun, the form of nearby stonework, obstructions, refractors, and reflectors that might harbour unwelcome glints.
As well as the overarching design, each piece of glass responds to the locale it is made for. Within the glass he made for Tewkesbury, Tom has captured the clustered interior of the chapel it inhabits.
Tom interacts with the glass in many ways, using a needle or stippler, blade or brush.
Whilst I’m there, he begins to work with an intensity that instinctively reveals and conceals the light and, whilst part way through stippling the glass, he stops and presses his palm into the paint, imbibing himself into the narrative.
And it isn’t an act of hubris; it is an act of humility towards the material—a need to particulate the light on that particular piece of glass. He notes that, whilst working in this way, new figures and personalities have emerged.
When I move around to the side to capture Tom’s profile, he is bathed in warm coloured light and, as I click away on the shutter button, I can’t help but think what this constant bathing in light might do to one’s soul.
A little later, Tom gives me the answer. He tells me that windows are unlike viewing artworks at an event. In fact, a window is not an event—it can be enjoyed over a lifetime, initiating a long and slow, unfolding revelation of its meaning. A painting or a photograph refracts light, but windows, through their translucency, conjure up connections with the world outside.
And that is exactly what the window at Tisbury will do. The lead cames splay like the branches of a tree, connecting the onlooker with the wider Wiltshire landscape beyond. It is in this way that Tom Denny’s windows are unique—they are conduits to other worlds that are, quite literally, saturated with meaning.
The first thing that strikes me about Tom when I first meet him is his eyes—full of light, warmth, and seeing. The theme of the Tisbury window is the Transfiguration, exploring different perspectives on seeing and the clarity of childhood—themes that relate to all faiths and none. Tom explains that the window presents various expressions of seeing, including quotes from the Bible.
After spending several hours with him, one caption from Matthew 13 deeply resonates:
“Blessed are your eyes, for they see.”
The day after photographing Tom, I visit the 'Denny glass' at Tewkesbury Abbey. As I stand there, absorbing the glass, the space, and the light, I experience a brief disconnect from the world. It’s a strange sensation where seconds stretch into minutes and minutes into hours.
Tom Denny, through his glass, has not only taught me how to see but also bought me more time on this earth.
✨ I'm on more than just a journey in my camper-van. Through the places I visit and the people I meet I'm finding new horizons and inspiration that I'm sharing via this Digest.
Photographing Tom Denny was supported by Member Powered Photography. Thank you to all Members. The MPP Page for this project can now be seen by members and includes access to professional photography and a short video I made. Click the box below for access:
Andy Marshall
Tewkesbury Abbey - The Denny Windows
Tewkesbury Abbey has a delightful cluster of chapels around the east end. The Denny windows are in the Chapel of St. Catherine and St. John the Baptist.
I lodged in the campsite next to the abbey and the next day I'm awoken by a golden light. I make haste and manage to capture the abbey in the first light.
The buildings along the streets of Tewkesbury dance in the raking light.
Tom kindly gives me a book about his work and it instantly takes pride of place on the van bookshelf next to 'Why Ruskin Matters', and 'The Ultimate Guide to Creating Perfection Between Two Slices of Bread.'
Andy Marshall
Let Your Light Shine.
From this time last year:
"Woody gets me cheek by jowl to buildings and places, but Splinter will get me into the hyper-local. On to the gravel paths and muddy tracks, right to the heart of things."
Andy Marshall
Member Powered Photography - Stained Glass Artist, Tom Denny.
Andy MarshallAndy Marshall
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Photographs and words by Andy Marshall (unless otherwise stated). Most photographs are taken with Iphone 14 Pro and DJI Mini 3 Pro.
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