Praise Him in the Height, to the design of George Heywood Sumner, completed in 2002, next to the original design as shown in the Studio magazine (p.48) of 1906. Sumner had designed not only the west window of St Mary the Virgin, Great Warley, in Essex, but all twelve of the original windows in the nave. It was especially unfortunate that the nave windows were lost during World War II (see Powell) because, as Alec Davidson has pointed out in correspondence with the author, they probably constituted his largest scheme of stained glass work. From the one pair of windows shown above, recreated in this century after painstaking research by the AuraVisions firm, it is clear that the loss was indeed great. The AuraVisions firm conserves and restores stained glass as well as creating new work, and their website explains that this particular project took two years. Although the two lancets were based on the illustrations clearly shown in the Studio of 1906, it was still a hard task. "His particular subtle colouring required study and the glass he had used was all but extinct," they explain. But "[a] few 'happy accidents' with the acid brought forth some good results that enabled the clear background glass to be matched very well." The results do seem very faithful to the original, and give us an idea of what has been so unfortunately lost through war.
O Praise the Lord of Heaven, from an illustration (on p.49 of the Studio) that provided a design for the whole window, rather than just the figure. In the illustration, the angel lancet that was recreated is flanked by lancets depicting David and Moses.
Photographs by John Salmon, image scans, text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. Many thanks to Dr. Davidson for his information, and for correcting a mistake in the year of the Studio volume. [You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Related Material
- Sumner's West Window for the church, restored after the bomb damage
- St Mary the Virgin, Great Warley, I: Exterior
- St Mary the Virgin, Great Warley, II: Interior
- St Mary the Virgin, Great Warley, III: Fixtures and Fittings
- South Chapel window by Morris & Co. to designs by Edward Burne-Jones
Sources
"The Arts and Crafts Exhibition at the Grafton Gallery: First Notice." The Studio, Vol. XXXVII (1906): 48-64. Internet Archive. Contributed by Robarts Library, University of Toronto. Web. 25 June 2015.
Powell, W. R., ed. "Great Warley." In A History of the County of Essex, Volume 7. London, 1978. 163-74. British History Online. Web. 25 June 2015.
"St Marys, Great Warley." "New Ecclessiastical" (seventh item on the webpage). AuraVisions. Web. 25 June 2015.
Last modified 25 June 2015