Conferences
For many years the British Society of Master Glass Painters has run a three-day autumn conference exploring the stained glass heritage of the British Isles in depth. It attracts a vibrant mix of stained glass artists, conservators, restorers, historians, researchers and other enthusiasts – giving members an opportunity to share their knowledge and experience in a friendly and informal environment. Conferences are planned and led by expert guides in collaboration with members whose local knowledge and connections lead to a fascinating and often unusual programme of events.
Friday Only Touring Conference 2025 Hampshire
Friday Only Touring Conference 2025 Hampshire
Friday 29 August 2025
Members day price £157.25 (non-members £185)
With optional Conference Dinner £199.75 (non-members £235.00)
We are delighted to see a return of the Stained Glass Touring Conference in 2025. The conference is based at the University of Winchester. Friday will be a coach tour of windows in Hampshire including The Vyne, a stunning National Trust house. In the evening we will have our Conference Dinner at the University.
The one-day price includes coach travel, lunch at The Vyne, expert guides and entry into all venues. You can add the Conference Dinner as an optional extra.
The booking form must be filled in and returned to the secretary. Conference booking form (Friday only). Email secretary@bsmgp.org.uk for all enquiries. Please note that there are less banking fees for the Charitable Trust if you pay by BACS (details on the booking form).
Please also note that there is no designated parking at the University and participants are encouraged to use public transport or Park & Ride.
We look forward to meeting friends old and new in our journey by coach through Hampshire.
Meet outside the University at 9am prompt on Friday 29 August 2025. Book now as spaces for single day trips are strictly limited. Bookings close on 31 July.
This event has passedThursday Only Touring Conference 2025 Winchester
Thursday Only Touring Conference 2025 Winchester
Thursday 28 August 2025
Members day price £140.25 (non-members £165.00)
With optional evening meal and artist talk £161.50 (non-members £190.00)
We are delighted to see a return of the Stained Glass Touring Conference in 2025. The conference is based at the University of Winchester. Thursday will be a walking tour of windows in the beautiful historic settings of Winchester College and the Cathedral including a look behind the scenes at the stained glass in the Deanery. In the evening we will have our popular ‘Show and Tell’ of makers’ work and research.
The one-day price includes lunch at the Wessex hotel, expert guides and entry into all venues. You can add dinner at the University and participate in the evening ‘show and tell’ of members work.
The booking form must be filled in and returned to the secretary. Conference booking form (Thursday only). Email secretary@bsmgp.org.uk for all enquiries. Please note that there are no banking fees for the Charitable Trust if you pay by BACS (details on the booking form).
Please also note that there is no designated parking at the University and participants are encouraged to use public transport or Park & Ride.
We look forward to meeting friends old and new in our journey on foot through Winchester.
Meet outside Winchester College at 10.15 prompt on Thursday 28 August 2025.
Book now as spaces for single day trips are strictly limited. Bookings close on 31 July.
This event has passedStained Glass Touring Conference 2025 Winchester and Hampshire
Stained Glass Touring Conference 2025 Winchester and Hampshire
27 – 30 August 2025
Cost £450.50 for members (full price £530.00)
Early Bird price for members when paying in full by BACS before 31 May £420
This year we will be based at Winchester University, a short walk from the historic city center. We will be led by expert speakers, Peter Cormack, Sally Rush-Bambrough and Mark Bambrough.
Our keynote speaker, Peter Cormack, will introduce the conference on the Wednesday evening.
Day 1 will be a walking tour of windows in the beautiful historic settings of Winchester College and the Cathedral including a look behind the scenes at the stained glass in the Deanery. In the evening we will reprise our popular ‘Show and Tell’ of makers’ work and research.
Day 2 will focus on The Vyne, a former Tudor powerhouse with rare sixteenth and eighteenth-century stained glass, where we will also have lunch. There will be visits to churches at Headbourne Worthy and Bramley in the morning, and Odiham and Crondall in the afternoon, all remarkable buildings which collectively offer a rich mix of windows. In the evening, we will celebrate with a formal Conference dinner, giving those who would like to a chance to dress up.
Finally, on Saturday morning we will visit the University Chapel where Mel Howse AMGP has a contemporary window. For those wishing to take the opportunity to see even more stained glass, we are preparing a list of recommended sites.
The full price of £530 for non-members (£450.50 for members) includes accommodation, all meals including the Conference Dinner, expert guides, coach travel and entry into all venues.
A limited number of day places will be made available in June.
More details including the booking form are here Booking Form Winchester Conference. Email secretary@bsmgp.org.uk for enquiries.
Please note that all rooms are on the first floor with no lift access and Day 1 requires walking fitness. For environmental reasons, parking on campus is restricted so participants are encouraged to travel by public transport, lift-share or use the park and ride. Overnight parking is available for £7.50 a day at Chesil Car Park in Winchester.
We look forward to meeting friends old and new in our stimulating journey through Winchester and Hampshire.
Wednesday 27 August – Saturday 30 August 2025
This event has passedStained Glass Touring Conference 2023 Leafy Surrey (Friday)
Stained Glass Touring Conference 2023 Leafy Surrey (Friday)
Friday 1 September 2023 Only
Cost £145 for members when paying by bank transfer. Online price £175 non-members / £148.75 members.
We are delighted to see a return of the Stained Glass Touring Conference in 2023. We will be based at the University of Surrey, Guildford, next to Edward Maufe’s impressive modern Cathedral in the heart of the Surrey Hills.
We will see glass from Medieval to Modern including the Arts & Crafts glass that Surrey is noted for. Peter Cormack will be our expert guide with contributions from Steve Clare, Pippa Martin and others. Downloaded Peter’s notes here: Leafy Surrey Touring Conference Notes
The one-day price includes lunch and Conference Diner, expert guides, coach travel and entry into all venues. Members can receive a additional discount by paying £145 by bank transfer or cheque.
More details including the booking form that must be filled in are here Stained Glass Touring Conference Friday. Email completed form to conference@bsmgp.org.uk for enquiries. The finalised itinerary will be available soon.
We look forward to meeting friends old and new in our stimulating journey through leafy Surrey.
Friday 1 September 2023 with a prompt 9am start. Spaces for single day trips are strictly limited.
This event has passedStained Glass Touring Conference 2023 Leafy Surrey (Thursday)
Stained Glass Touring Conference 2023 Leafy Surrey (Thursday)
Thursday 31 August 2023 Only
Cost £135 for members when paying by bank transfer. Online price £165 non-members / £140.25 members
We are delighted to see a return of the Stained Glass Touring Conference in 2023. We will be based at the University of Surrey, Guildford, next to Edward Maufe’s impressive modern Cathedral in the heart of the Surrey Hills.
We will see glass from Medieval to Modern including the Arts & Crafts glass that Surrey is noted for. Peter Cormack will be our expert guide with contributions from Steve Clare, Pippa Martin and others. Downloaded Peter’s notes here: Leafy Surrey Touring Conference Notes
The one-day price includes lunch, dinner, evening lecture, expert guides, coach travel and entry into all venues. Members can receive a additional discount by paying £135 by bank transfer or cheque.
More details including the booking form that must be filled in are here Stained Glass Touring Conference Thursday. Email completed form to conference@bsmgp.org.uk for enquiries. The finalised itinerary will be available shortly.
We look forward to meeting friends old and new in our stimulating journey through leafy Surrey.
Thursday 31 August 2023 with a prompt 9am start. Spaces for single day trips are strictly limited.
This event has passedStained Glass Touring Conference 2023 Leafy Surrey
Stained Glass Touring Conference 2023 Leafy Surrey
30 August – 2 September 2023
Cost £400 for members when paying by bank transfer
We are delighted to see a return of the Stained Glass Touring Conference in 2023. We will be based at the University of Surrey, Guildford, next to Edward Maufe’s impressive modern Cathedral in the heart of the Surrey Hills.
We will be seeing an exciting range of stained glass from Medieval to Modern, including the Arts & Crafts glass that Surrey is noted for.
Peter Cormack will be our expert guide with contributions from Steve Clare, Pippa Martin and others.
See Peter’s introduction to conference highlights here: Leafy Surrey Touring Conference Notes
The fees also cover evening lectures (including the popular members portfolio slot) and, of course, the Conference Dinner.
The full price of £490 for non-members (£416.50 for members) includes accommodation, meals, expert guides, coach travel and entry into all venues. Members can receive a additional discount by paying £400 by bank transfer or cheque with an option to pay an initial £50 deposit with the balance due in June.
A limited number of day places are available.
More details including the booking form are here Stained Glass Touring Conference. Email conference@bsmgp.org.uk for enquiries. The finalised itinerary will follow shortly.
We have some funded places on the conference for students, apprentices and those at the start of their stained glass career. The deadline for applying has now passed.
We look forward to meeting friends old and new in our stimulating journey through leafy Surrey.
Wednesday 30 August – Saturday 2 September 2023
This event has passedStained Glass Touring Conference 2019 Bath and the Levels
Stained Glass Touring Conference 2019 Bath and the Levels
28-31 August
Online booking now closed. For possible late availability please contact enquiries.
This year’s touring conference will be based at Bath University’s campus in the historic city of Bath. Founded by the Romans as a thermal spa, Bath became an important centre of the wool industry in the Middle Ages. In the eighteenth century, under George III, it developed into an elegant town with neoclassical Palladian buildings, which blend harmoniously with the Roman baths.
Our tour will visit various churches and historic buildings at locations in north Somerset. At the city of Wells we will lunch in the superb medieval Vicars Hall, and visit the magnificent Cathedral, where we will hear speakers intimately involved in the conservation of the important fourteenth-century ‘Tree of Jesse’ window. We will then be welcomed at leading conservation studio, Holy Well Glass, based in an exceptional medieval water mill. There we will see work in progress on major conservation projects. There will also be an opportunity to view the sculpted and engraved glass doors that the studio made for the private chapel of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor. At the studio, the unique working manuscript for Christopher Woodforde’s Stained Glass in Somerset 1250-1830 (first published in 1946) will also be available for study.
The tour will include stained glass from many periods, including exciting work by the late Keith New FMGP, work by Karl Parsons, and of course magnificent ancient glass, with examples from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. Many of the locations on our itineraries are set in beautiful countryside, varying from the rolling Mendip Hills to the stark beauty of the Somerset Levels.
On the evening of the first day, there will be a keynote lecture about the conservation of the superb glass commissioned by Bishop Fox at Winchester Cathedral in the early sixteenth century, with contributions from the conservators and art historians involved. We will also enjoy an illustrated overview of new commissions from members.
We look forward to meeting friends old and new on what promises to be an enjoyable and stimulating journey in the West Country.
This event has passed
