Brought to Light

Sarah Richardson's stained glass window was commissioned for the new Crawcrook Library in 1992 and combines general allusions to the function of libraries and specific references to Crawcrook's history.  

The title, Brought to Light, signifies the contribution of libraries to the enlightenment of their users and the unearthing of valuable material, a process paralleled physically by coalmining.  

The industry is represented by references to two eminent local figures, William Eltringham, a miner, fossil collector and contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and schoolteacher John Craiggy, influential in the education of many inventors and reformers in mining. 

Concentric lines represent the earth's strata, including seams of coal, and the reference to light is accentuated by the yellow area to the top of the design which overlaps the lighting system and is illuminated night and day. The stained glass panel measures 5 x 1 metres.