Chancel Screen

Architect: Charles Harrison Townsend (1851-1928)

Designer: William Reynolds-Stephens (1862-1943)

c. 1905

Walnut and pewter

St. Mary the Virgin

Great Warley, Essex

Source: The Studio (1905)

Formatting and text by George P. Landow.

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Although the caption for the plate in The Studio has "Chapel Screen," the following words of praise make clear that the photograph is of the chancel screen. "Perhaps the best display of the wonderful ingenuity in design, which is one of the most distinguished characteristics ot the whole of the work that Mr. Reynolds-Stephens has accomplished during his career, is to be seen in the chancel screen. The slender-stemmed trees of which it is composed rise from the marble base, and their crowns of foliage interlacing above make a rich mass of admirably treated detail. On each tree is placed a symbolical winged figure, and above, in the centre, is a cross flanked by two angels typifying 'Gentleness' and 'Goodness'" (Baldry, 15).

References

Baldry, A. L. “A Notable Decorative Achievement by W. Reynolds-Stephens ”. The Studio 34 (1905): 100-107. Internet Archive. Web. 29 January 2012.

Last modified 7 November 2007