Jan Juta's "Pegasus" Window To Be Restored

Hello Dear Readers.  Just a quick post as I have come across a bit of interesting news.  It seems that at long last the British art deco jewel New Filton House is presently being restored.   The structure also known as "Pegasus House" was designed in 1936 by Whinney, Son and Austen Hall as offices for the Bristol Aeroplane Company.

New Filton House  circa 1953           Image via aviationarchive.org.uk

The rather stark yet sleek exterior was embellished with a relief of the Bristol 142 "Britain First" airplane high above a freestanding figure of Pegasus both by sculptor Denis Dunlop.

Bas relief of the Bristol 142 by Denis Dunlop    Image: Linda Bailey via WikiCommons 

Sculpture of Pegasus by Denis Dunlop     Image: John Honniball via Flickr

Now dear readers, I first became aware of this structure many years ago doing research on the art deco muralist and glass artist Jan Juta.  You can find a previous post about him here.  The main staircase of New Filton House possesses a multi-story stained glass window depicting the history of the Bristol company executed by none other than Juta himself.  I have only ever seen small crops of the window in the past which thankfully is undergoing a complete restoration this summer by the Creative Glass Works in Bristol.

Image of the window featuring Pegasus   Image via bristol-aeroplane.com

Detail of Mercury   Image via ThisIsBristol.com

Detail of window    Image via bristol-aeroplane.com

Detail of Pegasus     Image via bristol-aeroplane.com

You see dear readers, the offices were vacated over two decades ago and the structure as well as its decor fell into disrepair becoming the realm of squatters and urban explorers.  Haunting images of the decay can be found here.  It has been reported that some of the panes were damaged or otherwise broken.  As noted above, my previous research caused me to stumble across a design drawing for the staircase window.

"Pegasus" Window design drawing by Jan Juta    Image: Aestheticus Rex

Detail of Juta's Design     Image: Aestheticus Rex 

Detail of Juta's Design    Image: Aestheticus Rex 

Detail of Juta's Design   Image: Aestheticus Rex

This is all terribly exciting to say the least.  To know that something feared lost to neglect is being saved at long last is always reassuring.  I have reached out to the Creative Glass Works to obtain an update on their progress.  I hope to post images of the completed work and details of the restoration as they come to light.  Until next time...--AR

UPDATE:
While I was cross posting around Facebook I located the page of the Creative Glass Works.  It seems that the window restoration is nearly complete.  I await their response but leave you with their images of the work in progress...

Detail of Mercury from the Pegasus Window by Jan Juta   Image: Creative Glass Works

Detail of restored Pegasus from the Jan Juta Window   Image: Creative Glass Works

Image of Creative Glass Works team at work    Image: Creative Glass Works