Historic Port Royal Foundation
Inside the church.

The Historic Port Royal Foundation is looking to raise some $20,000 to buy replica wavy-style glass for the 134-year-old Union Church in Port Royal's Old Village and for other minor repairs.

The Foundation describes the effort:

When the Union Church was built in 1878, the manufacturing process for producing window glass, was a hand-rolled process that created glass which was wavy and contained bubbles. When viewing objects outside the window from an angle, this glass created a wavy distorted view.

Over the years, broken and cracked panes were replaced with modern window glass as is the norm. Today's single pane window glass is machine-made, which is free from imperfections and distortion. In some cases, the panes were replaced with Plexiglas which has become discolored and opaque over time.

Restoration glass is now made using modern tools to reproduce the unique waviness and distortion as seen in the old hand-rolled process. Unfortunately, this glass is very expensive and only produced by a handful of companies here in the US.

The plans for repairing the windows in the church call for using this "Restoration Glass", which will duplicate the look of the original window panes. While costly, it will give the appearance of the original glass and lend an air of authenticity to the project.

Each window will be removed from its casing. Then, all non-original glass will be removed and replaced along with repairing/replacing any damage to the frame and mullions. The windows will be repainted and then re-installed along with proper window weights and ropes.

You can chip in tax-deductible donations with this form.

The Island Packet's Erin Moody also describes the plan and intended repairs in a report (read that here).