Skylight, 1949
The bespoke stained glass skylight depicts the daily transition of the sun, which is repeated below in the design of the mosaic pool and fountain, and the twelves signs of the zodiac. It is a replica of the original skylight which was destroyed on 7 October 1941, during the Second World War, by the blast wave from a German parachute mine.
Joy Shellard, daughter of the then curator remembered ‘…the leaded glass roof had completely collapsed onto the hall below and our dear goldfish in the ornamental pond were dead…Miraculously on further inspection, my father discovered most of the treasures lay unharmed under the debris and even some of the glass cases were intact’.
It was replaced in 1949 and is loosely based on the original, which can be partly glimpsed in old photographs. A plan also survives, indicating that the representation of the sun was more Japanese in appearance, with stylised rays and clouds. The original skylight was most likely made by Gateshead Stained Glass Company (1879-1926), who also made the dome skylight over the stairs, and the British heraldic and patron saints stained glass in the dining room.
