Reflections of
Manchester Town Hall
I am so pleased to be partnering with Manchester City Council and the Lord Mayors Charity (We Love MCR) to bring this one-off opportunity to life. Whilst working on the renovation of Manchester Town Hall’s stained glass windows, I put forward a proposal to repurpose the waste glass into beautiful pieces of jewellery to enable the people of Manchester to own a little of the city’s history. As part of the project, all profits will go to the Lord Mayors Charity, supporting people across the city.
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There are two types in the overall collection: the ‘original’ range uses the pieces of original glass that were installed in the 1870's. The ‘authentic’ range uses the offcuts of the new glass that was specially created to replace the worn sections of the original windows.. The range is now available to buy at Manchester Central Library shop.
Councillor Garry Bridges, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council said: “Manchester Town Hall is one of the jewels of the city's heritage and this creative jewellery project breathes new life into the historic stained glass and respects the original craftsmanship of this wonderful building. It is yet another way of preserving the legacy of our beloved town hall and allows people to own a tangible and wearable piece of the city’s history.
“As well as being an exciting and innovative way to reuse materials, the social value offer is a key element of Lin's jewellery project. With all of the jewellery profits going to the Lord Mayor's Charity, the benefit will be felt directly by those in need throughout the city.
“The artist has created some stunning individual pieces which I know will be incredibly popular. There will only be a finite amount of glass so when they are gone there will not be another chance to pick up one of these unique pieces.”
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Lin Fletcher, stained glass artist said: “I realised very quickly that this ‘waste’ glass from the Town Hall could be beautifully repurposed, giving Mancunians everywhere a chance to have a souvenir of the much-loved icon. I wanted to make sure that the income from these items went back into the city, and passing on the profits to the Lord Mayor’s Charity seemed like the perfect way to do this."
Simon Wright, from the Lord Mayor’s Charity (known as the We Love MCR Charity) said: “This is a unique opportunity for the charity to be collaborating on and I am sure there is going to be real interest in this fascinating collection that has been developed. The donations from sales will support We Love MCR Charity to continue to empower young people and local communities across the city."