REPRESENTATIVES from Malvern Priory have visited artist Tom Denny to view progress on a stained-glass window, commissioned to celebrate the new Millennium.

Basil Dewing, chairman of the Friends of Malvern Priory, said the work exceeded all his expectations.

Mr Dewing was accompanied by his wife and the group's treasurer, Clare, on the visit.

He said the aim was to have the window finished by the end of the year ready for installation and dedication next May.

Mr Denny, of Dorset, is working on a design inspired by verses five to ten of Psalm 36.

The finished work will replace two blank windows in the Priory's north choir aisle and will be the first stained glass in the aisle since the original glass was lost during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th Century.

Mr Denny is using glass mainly supplied by a German company, which is willing to make small quantities, together with some sourced in France and in this country.

Mr and Mrs Dewing were able to view the larger part of half of one of the two windows, together with elements of its tracery.

The design features a host of local references, including a view of the sun rising above the Malvern Hills, seen from Mathon, the Worcestershire pear, water and even a representation of the font from the Priory.

Mr Denny took a host of pictures on his visits to Malvern to assist him in his work.

Mr Dewing said: "The new windows will be a wonderful work of art and an inspiring devotional focus in the Priory blending with the existing medieval and Victorian glass."