It sounds like a title from the Nancy Drew Mystery Series. Only this time it is Sarah Hall, our resident stained glass artist. She is on the case — the mystery of the stained glass window at Consecon Public Library, unsolved for over a hundred years.

While not a murder, the case is intriguing all the same.  We are appealing to the public for any information that could help us finally put this mystery to rest. 

The Time: 1911

The Scene: Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Consecon, aka “Consecon Public Library”

What We Know So Far:  At the turn of the last century a person or persons unknown designed, created, and installed a large stained glass window in Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Consecon. No signature has been found.  All potential witnesses, including the donor and memorialized person of interest, James A. Johnson, have long since departed this earth. 

A complicating factor is that the Trinity Church building became part of the PEC County Library System in 1979. The window in question portrays a team of Apostles, hand-painted, silver-stained and fired on antique glass, with an image of their leader ascending to heaven. Experts from the across Canada have been enlisted to search for evidence of the window-maker, so far to no avail. The usual suspects who were active at the time – N.T. Lyons and R. McCausland – have been eliminated from our enquiries, either because they had an alibi, or because the painting style does not match their modus operandi.

Reward: If anyone has information that will help solve the mystery, please attend the Hidden Gems Talk by Sarah Hall on January 20th at 2pm at Picton Public Library.

Sarah Hall, CM, RCA is a stained glass artist with a strong interest in the history of her medium. Last year she successfully cracked a major case at Glenwood Cemetery, as documented in her recent book, Glenwood Chapel – Secret Societies and their Stained Glass.