Officials are hoping to find a new home for a striking stained-glass window in a church in Dumfries and Galloway. The work depicting Jesus Christ in Balmaclellan Parish Church is by Gordon Webster and is possibly based on a drawing by his father, renowned artist Alfred Webster.
The site is due to close and be sold off by the Church of Scotland, which hopes the window could be moved a few miles away to a church in Dalry. It has submitted an application to Dumfries and Galloway Council to relocate the century-old piece, saying it was in "sound" condition and could be "carefully removed".
Alfred Webster was born in December 1883 in Glasgow and took evening classes in stained glass at the Glasgow School of Art. He joined the studio of Stephen Adam and produced designs for churches throughout the city.
His windows were used in Landsdowne Parish Church, Great Western Road and throughout Scotland, including churches in Linlithgow, St Andrews, and Orkney. He was wounded and died in World War One in 1915 - just seven years after Gordon's birth. Alfred is considered one of the "most proficient and innovative stained-glass artists of the 20th Century". Gordon became an eminent artist in his own right, producing more than 200 windows during his career.
The Balmaclellan window is an example of his early work - he was only 20 years old when he made it in 1928. It is also part of the history of the church and dedicated to one of its past ministers, Rev George Murray.
Once conserved, it will be put in a new metal frame in front of a window located to the right of the pulpit at the church in Dalry. It is hoped the new location would actually see it benefit from more natural light than it currently enjoys.
The church in Balmaclellan is one of many which have been declared surplus to requirements across the south of Scotland and beyond. Community groups have successfully taken over a number of them and are bidding to take others into public ownership.
An application has been submitted to move the window before the church is sold
Balmaclellan Church is set to be sold
The window will be moved to the church in nearby Dalry
