Scotland's first stained glass museum to celebrate life of 'forgotten' artist killed in WWI

Now Scotland's first museum dedicated to the art and history of stained glass - and the legacy of Alf Webster - is to open next year in a former church in Glasgow's West End, where two of the artist’s works are situated.

The Alf Webster Museum of Stained Glass is to open in Lansdowne Church and aims to showcase some of the “most unique and historical displays of art and craftsmanship of the 20th century”.

Local heritage charity Fact Three has been working since 2013 to repair and conserve the historic building, which will house the museum as one of the new uses secured for the building alongside the Stand Comedy Club, now a tenant for the ground floor of the church and the Kelvin Bar in the former church hall.

The first phase of the project, which still has a funding gap of around £25,000, will include a new stained glass viewing gallery with wheelchair access, while the project has also funded original research into Alf Webster’s life and career which will be brought to life both physically, in a heritage room and digitally.

However plans for a second phase, which is likely to be completed within the next five years and will cost a “seven figure sum”, will include the installation of stained glass works by other Scottish artists, which could potentially be rotated in future - replacing works with new ones on a rolling basis.

David Robertson, trustee of Fact Three, said: “Alf Webster deserves a bit more attention from us all. Bringing him to prominence with his story makes stained glass as a medium a bit more accessible to a wider public.”

He added: “The city between 1864 and 1914 was one of the main workshops of the world and stained glass designers and studios in Glasgow were internationally famous not least through the creation of ship interiors for Clyde-built liners. Stained glass of international quality can be found throughout the public, ecclesiastical and residential buildings within and around the city and this is a heritage that deserves to be celebrated.”

Born in Glasgow’s south side in 1883, Webster studied Architecture and Modelling at the Glasgow School of Art before studying under Stephen Adam Senior in Adam’s Glasgow studio.

Scheduled to open to the public for the first time early in 2027, the museum project will reveal this conservation process which has incorporated traditional craft training in stained glass.

Webster’s work can also be found in other buildings around Scotland, including St Andrew's and St George’s West Church on George Street in Edinburgh.

The project has been supported by key partners including The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Glasgow City Heritage Trust and the Architectural Heritage Fund, which have contributed £250,000, £132,000 and £15,000 respectively.

However, Mr Robertson said more funding was needed to ensure the reopening could go ahead and said he hoped state funding sources and larger grant trusts would provide the funds in the coming years.

He said: “Today is an important milestone. However, while much significant effort is behind us, further hard work lies ahead.”

Dr Karen Mailley, research and outreach lead for the project, said the traditional craft used to restore the windows had allowed skills to be passed down to future generations in a “further legacy for the brilliance of Alf Webster”.