A WM Wiltshire Stained Glass Tour

Map of North Wiltshire showing the location of the three churches - it's about seven miles between Sopworth and the other two.

We started at St Mary's Sopworth, where a low, south facing three light window shows Mary Magdalene, The Virgin Mary and Mary of Cleopas. I had never seen a reproduction of this window and was amazed at how beautiful it looked, with lovely colour, detail and organisation of the background space. The figures were originally designed for Bradford Cathedral, the central Mary by Edward Burne-Jones, the outer two by William Morris. The Mary of Cleopas panel is simple and stunning - I've always heard that Morris couldn't do figures, perhaps it's the skilled glass painter's work that I admire the most.

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Window in St. Mary's Church, Sopworth and detail of the right hand panel. EBJ & WM 1873. Click to enlarge.

Next we went to Malmesbury Abbey to see a much later Edward Burne-Jones window. These figures I did recognise from their appearance in earlier windows made by the firm of Morris and Company, where Faith was originally St. George, Courage originally King Ethelbert of Kent and Devotion a centurion. The backgrounds and foliage are also quite standard, but fit well with the lofty space of the Abbey. Painted details, especially on the clothes, are as usual fantastic.

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The Luce Window, Malmesbury Abbey. Made by Morris & Company in 1901 to designs by EBJ. Click to enlarge.

Three miles south of Malmesbury is Holy Rood Church, Rodbourne, with some small windows made in the early years of the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Company. The designs are by Ford Madox Brown and Dante Gabriel Rossetti; there is also a pelican roundel by Philip Webb in another small window. I love Rossetti's angel and the crucifixion with red background above it. These must have been painted in the period when the firm's paint recipe contained unstable elements because much of the lettering and detail has come off. Strangely the paintwork on the pelican roundel is still perfect, lovingly painted too.

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Holy Rood, Rodbourne. Left: The Fall by FMB. Above: Annunciation by DGR.  Pelican roundel by Philip Webb. Click to enlarge.

Intricate Designs

Inside the Quiet Room, Churchill Hospital, Oxford.

Our refurbishment of The Quiet Space/Multi Faith Room in Churchill Hospital is almost finished. It used to be a white walled storage space  and now, after much consultation, I have designed glass and acrylic panels, wallpaper, lino floor, and bought some new furniture. Often, during the development stage, my designs are more intricate than everyone else thinks they should be - despite much loved examples of really complicated patterns used to decorate buildings throughout the ages. 

Details from the Vyner Memorial window, Morris & Co. 1872. On the right rare (for stained glass) initials of EBJ, designer and CFM, glass painter. Christ Church, Oxford

Medieval grisaille glass: left from Exeter Cathedral, right from Christ Church, Oxford c.1350

These medieval grisaille windows are my favourite examples for showing the techniques of painting and staining on different types of coloured glass and the combination of geometry and plant life  that I use in my own work. I was shown around by great guides at Christ Church; Jo Cottrel who also volunteers at Kelmscott Manor and Edward Evans who has written the Pitkin Guide to the windows and therefore knows the history of every single window in the cathedral.

Eaton Hastings

WM commented on the church of St. Michael and All Angels at Eaton Hastings as being a companion in size and layout to those at Buscot and Kelmscott. Looking across the river from Kelmscott Manor, you can see the clump of trees surrounding the church, but it's a winding walk away because of the bridges over the Thames.

Inside are interesting windows, and a tasteful interior as the cushions and kneelers are in the same jade green as the glass borders. I like the white/green and green/white reversal in the first two windows above, and I love the little piece of C18th painted glass above right.

Below are the windows from Morris & Co in the church. Left to right; Christ from a design by EBJ (1877), St. Matthew from a design by EBJ (1872-4), St. Michael by FMB surrounded by angels and Saints Raphael and Gabriel designed by WM but not made until 1935.

Local windows

Above left: a window depicting The Good Shepherd in Buscot church, designed by Edward Burne Jones in 1892. Bottom right: the shepherd's feet. Top right: another pair of interesting feet from a later Morris & Co. window in the same church.

Both churches on this post are close to Kelmscott and the River Thames, their interiors are strikingly different.

Inglesham Church was saved from unsympathetic restorations by William Morris in the late 19th Century and is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. Nothing I have read about this church mentions the windows, I think they are perfect for the place.