Antique large leaded stained glass window. Relic salvaged from Alma College St Thomas Ontario.
$5,673.30
Antique (late 1870s to early 1880s) large, leaded, stained glass window salvaged from the Alma College fire in 2008. One-of-a-kind Canadian Heritage item. The stained glass on the window reads "ubi patria ibi bene" with translates from the Latin to English as "Your home (Countryland) is where they treat you well".
About Alma College, St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada: By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, May 28, 2008, Alma College in St. Thomas was reduced to a smouldering ruin. The loss of this significant site to arson fire represents an enormous heritage loss for the province of Ontario. Much of what stood of this once-impressive 19th-century school building after the fire – the skeletal brick remains of its exterior walls and towers – was later pulled down for public safety reasons. While the chapel survives and has potential for restoration and reuse, the grandeur that once was Alma College is now only a memory recorded in photographs and the printed page.
Alma College was built in 1878, largely thanks to the efforts of Rev. Albert Carman, a Methodist Episcopal Church bishop. Carman was instrumental in laying the groundwork to establish the institution. The College officially opened in 1882. It operated until 1989 as one of Canada’s leading finishing schools for young women. Girls and young women were being educated in growing numbers during the second half of the 19th century with the opening of provincial public schools and private ladies’ colleges. Alma College offered classes in the visual and performing arts.
The High Victorian Gothic building was designed by Hamilton architect James Balfour (also known for his work at Hamilton City Hall and the Detroit Institute of Arts), and built by Henry Lindop of St. Thomas. The 10-acre site at 96 Moore Street in St. Thomas was selected for its rail accessibility as well as its then-acceptable distance from the distractions or “vices” of larger urban centres.
Balfour designed Alma College in the High Victorian Gothic style with a grand central tower, asymmetrical wings, pointed arch window and door openings and detailed window transoms. The school also had French Second Empire design elements, including its mansard roof. During the 1880s, a five-storey addition in the Scots Baronial style added rounded corner turrets and a hipped roof to the southwest corner of the building. The building boasted a high degree of craftsmanship in the use of local buff bricks, grey-green sandstone, decorative polychrome slate on the turrets and mansard roof, and timber trim and frame. Prior to the recent fire, the Alma College site – vacant for the past 12 years – included the grand main school building that has been lost, and a small chapel, music building and outdoor amphitheatre, three of which remain.
Alma College officially closed in 1994. Many of its alumni have become innovators and pioneers in the fields of law, music, politics, government and education. The College lives on through a large and active alumni; the Alma College International Alumnae Association has chapters throughout the world. Undoubtedly, their memories will help keep the history of this wonderful building and important institution alive, as scholars and supporters of heritage compile the written, personal and visual testament to one of the province’s great landmarks – Alma College.
Condition: This relic is in very good condition considering it is glass and was salvaged locally from the Alma College fire. The clear glass has a crack in one spot which can be repaired. There is no damage to the leaded, stained portion of the glasswork. All of the colors are bright and vivid. The wood surround shows some charring and wear.
Fabulous piece of Canadian Heritage.
Approximate measurements: 47" H | 21" W | 1.5" D within a wood surround.
MULTIPLE PURCHASES AT THE SAME TIME? Use the combined items discount at check-out! Enter COMBINEDITEMDISCOUNT into the SHOP COUPON CODE field to SAVE 20%! on your entire order from BuyfromGroovy when purchasing more than one item at the same time from the shop.
*** We LOVE! happy, satisfied customers and we want you to be delighted with your purchases for many years to come and to always feel you received good value and service from us. To promote this end, we do our utmost to identify any and all flaws or defects in our products, as such exist. We believe in WYSIWYG - what you see IS what you will receive from us. All products are exactly the ones shown in our listings, with NO! substitutions and thus, these pictures are worth 1,000 of our words! Please do, ALWAYS! review the posted photos and make use of the ZOOM! feature by using the ZOOM! button (magnifying glass icon) at the bottom right of each photo to enlarge the view and see the item or items up close, in greater detail. The pictures form a huge part of the item descriptions. We feel viewing them, especially ZOOMING! in on them (particularly with china and ironstone pieces that have a tendency to craze and/or fade over time) helps to ensure that which you receive will meet with your personal expectations upon arrival. ***
PLEASE NOTE: We CANNOT and DO NOT warrant that vintage and antique items were at any time owned and used ONLY within smoke-free environments. All vintage and antique items listed are washed, to the best of our ability to do this, pre-shipment, noting that washing of some items like books, board games, plush and stuffed toys, barbies or dolls with fabric clothing, fabric lamp shades and original paintings or works of art, for example, is JUST NOT POSSIBLE. We also do NOT wash vintage clothing or blankets which may have original tags, or may be of wool or other fiber that cannot be easily washed. We ask shoppers to PLEASE CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY OF A SMOKE SMELL PRE-PURCHASE.
Shipping from Canada
Processing time
3-5 business days
Estimated shipping times
- North America : 5 - 10 business days
- Europe : 2 - 4 weeks
I'll do my best to meet these shipping estimates, but can't guarantee them. Actual delivery time will depend on the shipping method you choose.
Customs and import taxes
Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. I'm not responsible for delays due to customs.
Payment Options
Returns & Exchanges
I don't accept returns, exchanges, or cancellations
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
Privacy policy
We collect only the information you provide that is necessary for us to ship your order(s) to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT PAYMENT METHODS DO YOU ACCEPT? ARE PURCHASES SUBJECT TO SALES TAXES?
Payment methods: We accept payment via most major credit cards, Paypal and Etsy gift certificates.
Taxes on purchases: All purchases through BuyfromGroovy ARE subject to the addition of applicable taxes. Etsy collects all taxes. For orders shipping outside of Canada, Etsy collects tax at the rate set by the individual State or Country. On domestic (Canadian) orders tax is applied to the order on check-out as indicated by the Canadian Government's tax table.
DO YOU OFFER A LAYAWAY OR PAYMENT PLAN FOR ITEMS I WISH TO PURCHASE?
Currently, BuyfromGroovy does NOT offer a layaway plan. However, where an interested Purchaser contacts us to request a HOLD or RESERVE on an item(s), we are most times happy to do so FOR UP TO 48 HOURS. If you require an item or items to be held longer than 48 hours, please message us to request these arrangements. In some cases, we may offer installment invoicing through PayPal, with the item(s) being sent out within five (5) business days FOLLOWING FULL PAYMENT OF ALL PAYPAL INVOICES.
DO YOU ACCEPT RETURNS? DO YOU OFFER EXCHANGES? DO YOU ACCEPT ORDER CANCELLATIONS?
ALL SALES ARE FINAL! We do NOT! offer exchanges and we do NOT! accept cancellations of orders. We will accept returns of merchandise ONLY! IF WE HAVE ERRED in what was sent, or the item received varies from the description provided on the listing. We ask that Customers bring issues to our attention within FIVE (5) days of confirmed delivery. We believe a further delay in reporting an issue is unacceptable. Where a refund is warranted, meaning we made a mistake on your order, something we try very hard not to do, your refund is typically processed within two (2) BUSINESS days.
* DO NOT REFUSE DELIVERY AS A MEANS TO RETURN AN ITEM. Not only is the parcel NOT guaranteed to be returned to us, but the post office may charge additional fees. *
VINTAGE BOARD GAME, PUZZLE, VHS TAPE AND LP POLICY.
Board games, puzzles, video tapes are sold AS IS. We do our utmost to identify shortcomings or flaws, as they exist. Parts and pieces are inventoried and the status stated IN CAPS at the top of the listing. Games are checked for COMPLETENESS AND COSMETIC APPEARANCE.
NOTE: A nicotine smell MAY BE PRESENT! we cannot wash games and cannot know that all previous owners were non smokers only *PLEASE CONSIDER THIS BEFORE PURCHASING*
HOW IS THE CONDITION OF TABLEWARE AND CHINA QUANTIFIED?
MINT: NO! chips, nicks, cracks, crazing, fading, marks, stains, or scratches. Usually refers to an UNUSED item such as old store stock.
EXCELLENT: may show MILD! crazing, a fleabite, MINIMAL! fading, or edge wear. Defects will be stated in listing
VERY GOOD: item has NO! cracks, but may have nicks, MINIMAL crazing and or edge loss (where applicable) or fading. Defects will be stated in the listing.
GOOD! or FAIR: may present with ANY OR ALL OF the above issues. Defects will be stated in the listing. Best for use as an extra piece for your service, or as a decorative display item only.
SMELL OF SMOKE: We CANNOT guarantee the prior owner was a non-smoker. Items MAY HAVE A SMELL OF SMOKE.
WHAT IS THE AVERAGE SHIPPING TIMEFRAME? WHAT IS THE AVERAGE DELIVERY TIMEFRAME?
Most items ship out within three (3) to five (5) BUSINESS days. Where there is a variance to this, such as the order of a large dinner service, or an order requiring a lot of time to package, we will provide an updated shipping time frame, where necessary.
Delivery to the USA is typically 7-10 BUSINESS days FOLLOWING the date of shipment. Canadian delivery is typically 3-5 BUSINESS days FOLLOWING shipment date, with the exception of addresses located in more remote areas of Canada such as Northern BC, the Yukon etc. In these remote areas, delivery times can be in the range of 7-10 BUSINESS days.
INTERNATIONAL orders ship within 3-5 BUSINESS days but delivery can vary from 10 to 30 days depending on destination country and ship method.
FREE! CANADA | USA SHIPPING | INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING | COMBINED SHIPPING DETAILS.
All Canada | US shipping charges are INCLUDED in shown prices. A 20% discount is offered on MOST items when purchasing two or more at the same time. Coupon code COMBINEDITEMDISCOUNT entered at check-out applies this credit. SOME ITEMS ARE EXEMPT FROM THE COMBINED SHIPPING DISCOUNT | FREE SHIPPING and this is noted on the affected listings.
We ALWAYS! over-pack items and use high-quality packaging materials. Great time and care is taken with packaging to ensure items are received in the same condition as when they left our warehouse.
International orders do NOT! ship free. If you live outside Canada or the USA the cost to ship your order is displayed when you select your location from the drop-down list of countries.
SIZING AND QUANTITY DETAILS.
All sizes are given in feet and inches, unless otherwise indicated and are approximations.
All items are listed individually and the price shown would be for a quantity of ONE (1), unless otherwise stated (i.e., SET of xx, PAIR of xx). Sometimes, BONUS! items are provided and where a BONUS! item is included, it will be referenced in the listing. Photos may show more than one (1) of the same item if more than one (1) is available. This is done to assist buyers, allowing them to see each of the available items to assess their quality and/or appearance given that they may receive any number of the shown items, depending upon the quantity ordered. We provide as many photos, normally, as space permits.
IS LOCAL PICK-UP AVAILABLE?
ALL purchase transactions are conducted through Etsy check-out, meaning there are NO! COD transactions available. This provides the Purchaser with Etsy Buyer Protection as the sale is conducted through Etsy. As of September, 2021 we no longer offer a local pick-up option. All items are shipped to Customers via Canada Post with tracking and insurance for loss.
DO YOU HAVE A STORE FRONT WE CAN VISIT?
All BuyfromGroovy sales are conducted online. We do NOT operate a brick-and-mortar storefront and we do NOT offer payment via phone, postal, or email transfer. All payments are made through Etsy online payment processing.