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After a long and delicate restoration, sketches by one of the most famous Jersey-born artists are to be on display next week.
Henry Thomas Bosdet is best-known for creating stained glass windows which adorn many churches throughout the island and all over Britain, and even as distant as the island of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Bosdet's vast pencil drawings, the basis of some iconic local stained-glass windows, were hidden away in archives for over a century.
But next week, islanders will be able to see the original pencil drawings – which are just as tall as the windows themselves – alongside the final stained-glass pieces.
Conservator Lisa Oxenden-Wray was brought on board to restore the cartoons and has spent the past three months cleaning and repairing them.
Watch: Lisa-Oxenden-Wray spoke to Express about her work restoring the sketches.
Those that can be framed will be on display physically in St Martin's Church, while some have been restored and are to be shown at the exhibition as facsimiles.
Bodset left the sketches to Société Jersiaise after his death in 1934.
They were eventually passed on to Jersey Heritage, who now hold Bodset's sketches in their archive.
This exhibition will be the first time they are open to the public to view.
Pictured: The cartoons reflect how Bosdet imagined his stained-glass windows. (Dave Ferguson)
The idea for the showcase came from former Jurat, Paul Nicolle, a member of the Glass Rainbow Trust which is putting on the exhibition.
It is being funded by the Jersey Community Foundation and is supported by Jersey Heritage.
Pictured: Bosdet's sketches are up to 8 1/2 ft tall and incredibly intricate. (Dave Ferguson)
Glass Rainbow Trust Chairman Frederick Benest said: “These cartoons are outstanding examples of Bosdet’s artistic skills.
“And we are delighted that funding for their preservation has been made available by the Jersey Community Foundation and similarly that we have such a skilled conservator in Lisa Oxenden-Wray to preserve Bosdet’s outstanding works.
"We are hoping that islanders will take this opportunity to see these original beautiful drawings and their final manifestations as windows.”
Henry Thomas Bosdet was an artist, stained-glass designer and curator.
Born in St Helier in 1856, he studied at the Royal Academy and built a career as a curator, a painter, and creating stained-glass windows.
Pictured from left: Lisa Oxenden-Wray, standing Helena Kergozou (Jersey Heritage), Peter Tabb and Fred Benest (Dave Ferguson)
His art is visible in a number of island churches and buildings – and as far afield as Barbados' Parliament Buildings.
Bosdet died in St Lawrence in 1934 and is buried in St Saviour's Cemetery.
A member of Société Jersiaise, he bequeathed his archives to the organisation.
Bodset's cartoons will be on display at St Martin's Church from Tuesday 5 December to Sunday 10 December, from 10:00 to 16:00.
The final day will conclude with a Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. Organ music starts at 17:45.
WATCH: How do you restore 120-year-old sketches by Jersey's stained-glass master?
Rare Bosdet painting found in attic graces church for Holy Week
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