Listed church connects old to new with glass link

Grade II listed, the church of St John the Evangelist in Manthorpe has been transformed with the addition of a new community hall.  An innovative full height glass link connects the church to the new hall, interfacing with a glass rooflight that extends the full length of the building, flooding the space below with natural daylight.

Like all our bespoke glass installations the result is deceptively simple, with minimal fixings and a flawless result with no indication of the technical challenges involved.    

• The vertical and sloping glass panels fitted to the sides of the building and the steep slope of the roof were manufactured as individual double-glazed units, commissioned and made to fit these unusual dimensions
• Digital measuring techniques ensure the panels fit accurately, even around the carved stonework of the church
• A challenging interface between the link panels and the rooflight was designed to meet all structural requirements
• A custom built frame, angled to ensure rainwater run off, was developed by Ion’s expert technicians to accommodate the three double-glazed roof panels
• The link is fully heat-retentive, filled with argon gas to meet optimum criteria for heat loss performance.
• Ritec coating on the roof panels makes it easier to maintain
• A spider crane was commissioned to lift the heavy roof panels which were then manoeuvred into place by Ion’s experienced installation team.

This award-winning project, is a testament to the vision and skills of everyone involved, with the new hall re-generating community life in the village.

Working on behalf of the architects, Ion provided a full service including structural and technical specifications, drawings and digital measurements to ensure a perfect and compliant result.

Visit our website for more information on this project, glass linkways, glass bridges and walkways, framed and frameless glass balustrades, glass screens,  glass panels, internal or external glass doors and other structural glass installations for churches, luxury properties,  heritage, commercial or leisure environments. 

A video of the project is available here.

If you have a project you’d like to discuss call us on 0345 658 9988, send us an email via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or click on the enquiry form on our website.

For further information visit www.ionglass.co.uk