The Reverend Charles Preston of Saint Matthew's Episcopal Church of Jamestown, Rhode Island in 1898 was reported to have conceived the idea of a moveable chapel. Despite the island’s length of less than 10 square miles of land, Preston believed he would be responding to parishioners in the north end if the church would come to them, by hook or by crook. Once completed, the Chapel of the Transfiguration or Preston's "Go Chapel", or what most would just call the “Moveable Chapel” of Jamestown, would go on to hold about 100 people. Through Preston’s vision and persistence, in 1899 the chapel made the trek from town to the north end on wheels pulled by a team of oxen. It was the first of its kind, and remained as it was until the early 1930’s when it was purchased, moved, and converted into part of a home. Still on Jamestown, the moveable chapel has had several owners but has retained much of the character from 1899 including a series of stained glass windows. [Jamestown Historical Society/Jamestown Press]

I have been commissioned to work and restore several this chapel's original stained glass windows. Being a parishioner of Saint Matthew’s today, and having grown up on Jamestown, this opportunity was certainly one I felt compelled to accept.

Over the coming few weeks, follow @IslandesignRI (http://www.instagram.com/islandesignri/) on Instagram where I will be chronicling this work.