William Wailes, stained glass artist

The East window in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth is one of the great works by William Wailes (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

William Wailes (1808-1881), who designed the three lower clerestory windows on the south side of the chancel in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth, was a key artist in the Gothic Revial movement and the proprietor of one of the largest and most prolific stained glass workshops in England.

One of his most impressive works is the great East Window in Tamworth, a tribute to Rawle’s immediate predecessor, the Revd James Ogilvy Millar (1828-1890). Millar was the Vicar of Tamworth in Saint Editha’s in 1865-1869, who was instrumental in the restoration of the church.

Wailes began in business as a grocer and tea merchant. However, his artistic talent and practical skills led him to set up a small kiln in the backyard of his premises in Newcastle, where he made and fired small decorative enamels that were sold in his shop.

In 1830, Wailes went to Germany to study stained glass design and production under Mayer of Munich. In 1838, he set up his own stained glass studio to design and manufacture windows and in 1841 the business began producing its own glass.

In 1842, Pugin approached Wailes about producing windows for him. Working with Pugin was a thankless task, as Pugin went from one workshop to another in an attempt to get his designs realised at the lowest possible cost, and the working relationship lasted for only three years until 1845, although Wailes continued to produced glass for Pugin on-and-off until Pugin died in 1852.

When Wailes was joined by his son-in-law Thomas Rankine Strang (1835-1899) as a partner, the business became Wailes & Strang. Wailes lived in Saltwell Towers, Gateshead, from 1859. He died there and is buried in Saint Peter’s churchyard, Bywell, Northumberland.

The three windows by Wailes in his series on the south side of Saint Editha’s chancel commemorate, from left, Bishop Rawle of Trinidad, formerly Vicar of Tamworth 1869-1872. The window shows 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, represents Abraham offering his son Isaac in sacrifice.

The third and westernmost window is in memory of Joseph Gray of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, who died in 1846 and is buried in the north porch of the Church. The window has an inscription ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.’

‘William Wailes, stained glass artist’ is published as a two-page illustrated feature Tamworth Heritage Magazine, Vol 2 No 1, Winter 2024 (January 2024), ed Chris Hills, pp 17-18