Tributes paid to founder of Aylesbury Vale stained glass business Stewart Bowman, 83

Mr Bowman, 83, worked as a glazier for more than fifty years and installed stained glass windows at churches across the area including Brill, Haddenham and Thame.

Stewart started as an apprentice with Michael Farrar Bell in 1950 and stayed there for five years - receiving training at one of the top English stained glass workshops of the 19th century.

Stewart then started Stewart Bowman's Stained Glass after his apprenticeship and worked for many decades running his own firm.

When his son Stephen left school he joined the business and they worked on many projects together.

In 1989 Stephen started Bowman's Stained Glass which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary.

Paying tribute to his dad Stephen said: "Dad has always loved drawing and designing - it has been a passion of his since he was a young age.

"After his apprenticeship he started his own business and it took off from there - he started doing pub signs but it quickly snowballed to include churches and other buildings."

Stewart managed to get projects working on buildings overseas which included the Okura Hotel in Tokyo, Japan and the Church of the Epiphany in Virginia in the United States.

He also designed a stained glass window for St Mary's Church, Dover, erected in memory of the victims of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster - when the Herald of Free Enterprise capsized in March 1987 on a journey from Zeebrugge, Belgium to Dover.

Among the many buildings in the UK he designed windows for were St Albans Methodist Church, Oakley Church, Brill Church, Bradfield College and Marlborough College.

Stewart lived in Haddenham and had a workshop in Wykeham Way, before the family's workshop moved to Fleet Marston Farm, Aylesbury, ten years ago.

The hope is that the business will continue to go strong for the forseeable future, and Stephen's son Kieron has recently joined the family firm as an apprentice.