Patrick Comerford
I went to see the Stained Glass Exhibition in Saint Editha’s Church while I was in Tamworth last week. The special month-long exhibition is running throughout May and showcases the world-class stained glass collection in the church, including works by Pre-Raphaelite artists such as William Morris, Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Madox Brown and Henry Holiday, along with paintings, original designs, sketches and archive materials that have never been seen before.
Saint Editha’s has a particularly fine collection of Pre-Raphaelite works, and much of it was manufactured by William Morris and Co and by William Wailes. The church also has windows by Henry Hughes, Florece Camm, Gerald ER Smith, AK Nicholson and two important modern works: the great west window designed by Alan Younger and George Pace, and the Aethelfled window in the south chancel, made by Robert Paddock in 2018.
Visitors to the exhibition are invited to begin their tour admiring the Great West Window, ‘Revelation of the Holy City,’ by Alan Younger (1933-2004), one of the most important stained-glass artists in post-war Britain. The window was installed in 1975 and dedicated by Princess Margaret.
The three windows in the North Aisle are war memorial windows, two by Henry Holiday dating from World War I and one by Gerald ER Smith and AK Nicholson from World War II.
Henry Holiday was drawn to the Pre-Raphaelite movement at an early stage in his career and succeeded Burne-Jones as the chief designer at the studios of James Powell & Sons in Birmingham. His windows in the north aisle are in memory of the dead of World War I and the Revd Maurice Peel, Vicar of Tamworth in 1915-1917.
Smith and Nicholson, who made the World War II in the north aisle, were influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement.
The window by Henry Hughes (1822-1883) in the Comberford Chapel (1871), above the Comberford family memorial, is in memory of a former Vicar of Tamworth, the Revd Francis Blik (1796-1842) and his wife Anne, and of Robert Watkin Lloyd and his wife Anne.
Another Vicar of Tamworth, Canon EH Rogers, is commemorated in Florence Camm’s window in Saint George’s Chapel. She also made the window in memory of Esther Dean in Saint George’s Chapel.
Between these two windows by Florence Camm, above the memorial to William Allport of Comberford Hall, is a Pre-Raphaelite window by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris depicting Samuel, Ruth, Naomi and David, and in memory of Emma Pipe Cook.
There are two further windows by Morris and Burne-Jones in Saint George’s Chapel. The window at the east end of north wall of in memory of the Revd Brooke Lambert (1834-1901), a slum priest in the Anglo-Catholic tradition who had worked in Whitechapel and Greenwich and was strongly influenced by FD Maurice. He was the Vicar of Tamworth in 1872-1878 and he and his curate, the Revd William MacGregor, who later became Vicar of Tamworth, were enthusiastic campaigners for social reform. Lambert also became the proprietor of the Tamworth Herald, and Lambert and MacGregor were responsible for many of the 19th century restorations of Saint Editha’s.
The striking figures in this window were designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and the glazing is the work of Morris & Co. The figures represent (from left) Saint Martin, Saint Lambert, Saint Nicholas and Saint George.
The East Window in Saint George’s Chapel is an artistic treasure in memory of John Peel (1804-1872), Liberal MP for Tamworth in 1863-1868 and again in 1871-1872. In the tracery are six panels known as the ‘Angles of Creation’ by Burne-Jones. This window was made in the 1874 in the workshops of William Morris and connects the story of the six days of Creation with the story of the redemption of humanity. The smaller lights surrounding these are filled with depictions of angels who are playing musical instruments, making melody in honour of the Creation, the Incarnation and the Redemption.
The Incarnation is shown in a painting of the Annunciation at the top of the arch which, through the Creation of Humanity, links with the impressive panel in the centre of the window, depicting the story of Saint Christopher, representing the Redemption of humanity. On either side are two rows of three images of Old Testament prophets and New Testament saints: (top left) Noah, Enoch and Saint John the Baptist; (bottom left) Abraham, Moses and Saint Peter; (top right) Saint John the Evangelist, Samuel and David; (bottom right) Saint Paul, Elijah and Saint Barnabas.
The inscription in a scroll beneath the feet of Saint Christopher reads: ‘To the glory of God and in memory of John Peel sometime representative of this borough in parliament. Born Feb 4 1804. Died April 2 1872.’
The great East Window in the chancel, above the high altar and the reredos, dates from 1870, and was designed by William Wailes (1808-1881), the proprietor of one of the largest and most prolific stained glass workshops in England. It is a tribute to the Revd James Ogilvy Millar (1828-1890), who was the Vicar of Tamworth in 1865-1869 and, who was instrumental in the restoration of the church.
Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893) also designed the three Marmion windows high up in the clerestory on the south side of the chancel telling the story of Saint Editha. These windows were made at the studios of William Morris.
The first of three window tells the story of the marriage of Editha of Mercia and Sigtrygg of Northumbria. The second window shows Saint Editha and her nuns witnessing a vision of the Virgin Mary. The third window tells the story of the Marmion family of Tamworth Castle and a vision of Saint Editha.
William Wailes also designed the three lower clerestory windows on the south side of the chancel. They commemorate, from left: Bishop Richard Rawle of Trinidad, former Vicar of Tamworth (1869-1872), showing Melchisedec, King of Salem, meeting Abraham; the middle window, in memory of Waldyve Henry Willington (1831-1850) of Tamworth, who died of fever in Saint John’s College, Cambridge, showing Abraham offering his son Isaac in sacrifice; and Joseph Gray of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, who died in 1846 and is buried in the north porch of the church. This third window depicts Moses, has an inscription ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.’
The Æthelflæd window portrays the warrior queen in front of a fortified burh, surrounded by English oak leaves, within a solid oak frame in an internal opening in the chancel. The hand-made glass was produced by Robert Paddock of the Art of Glass Ltd of Hatton, Warwickshire. The window is back-lit so that its rich colours change in appearance during the course of the day, and it is particularly striking in the evening.
The window is a tribute by their children to Norman and Mavis Biggs who both died in January 2017. For over half a century, they were involved in promoting, protecting and celebrating Tamworth’s heritage and history.
The window was blessed and dedicated by Bishop Michael Ipgrave of Lichfield, and a plaque was unveiled by Prince Edward in 2018 as part of service organised by the Tamworth and District Civic Society to mark the 1100th anniversary of the death of Æthelflæd.
The window in the Saint Nicholas Chapel or South Transept is easy to overlook, behind the Lady Chapel and half hidden by the organ. This window, also by William Wailes, depicts three Resurrection themes beautifully illustrated in glowing colours: the Supper at Emmaus (left), the Resurrection (centre) and the Miraculous Draught of Fishes (right).
This window is in memory of John Harding of Bonehill, who died on 9 July 1844, aged 82, and his wife, Margaret, who died on 14 November 1833, aged 66, who are buried with six of their children in a vault underneath the North Porch.
The three windows in the South Aisle have stained glass made by Powell & Son of London and designed by Henry Holiday. The colouring and drawing of the Biblical subjects in these windows are particularly fine.
The Biblical figures in the first window in the south aisle are Daniel (‘Bless ye the Lord’), Esther (‘What wilt thou Queen Esther?’) and Ezra (‘By the rivers of Babylon we wept’). The second window depicts David (‘The Battle is the Lord’s’, I Samuel 17: 17), Rizpah (‘She suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night’, II Samuel 21: 10) and Solomon (‘Blessed be the Lord which delighted in thee’, I Kings 10: 9). The third window depicts Samson (‘Let me die with the Philistines’), Ruth (’Whose damsel is this?’) and Samuel (‘Anoint him for this is he’).
The exhibition also includes paintings, original design sketches and archive materials, many of which have never seen before. Several artefacts on display are on loan from the Tamworth Castle Collection.
Some of the artefacts in the North Aisle include an original watercolour of the Saint Christopher window, attributed to Henry Holiday; original paintings of the three north aisle windows; design sketches; and a collection of other local stained glass, both sacred and secular.
The exhibition opened on 2 May and continues until 31 May. It is open daily from 10 am to 2 pm, with special guided tours and a ‘Behind-the-Scenes’ event, and is accompanied by a new windows guidebook.
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