skokholmwindow1

“To Dwell Alone…” – a window for Skokholm Island, Pembrokeshire

The window was made by Studio Melyn for the Wildlife Trust, South ans West Wales to celebrate the relaunch of Skokholm as an accredited bird observatory and was inspired by the history, wildlife and landscape of Skokholm Island.

Linda has been a regular visitor to the islands for the past 20 years and both Linda and Rachel are passionate about Skokholm, its history and the biological monitoring that takes place there.

We spent time on the island researching our design in 2013, we decided on an underlying design based on the dry stone walls which are a feature of the island. The details reflect the history of the island from its time as a medieval rabbit warren, the life and times of Ronald Lockley, the wreck of the schooner, The Alice Williams, and its establishment as Britain’s first Bird Observatory in 1933. There are also references to the diverse wildlife and the geographical topography of the island.

Linda and Rachel worked in their studios on the mainland to design, paint and lead the window using traditional stained glass techniques. Each piece of glass was painted and fired multiple times in our kilns to achieve a depth of colour and texture sympathetic to the island landscape. The pieces were finally leaded and cemented in place before being transported to the island where we installed it in time for the celebration of the reinstatement of Bird Observatory status on Sunday 27th April 2014.