Prophets and Apostles, in St Michael's, South Grove, Highgate, by Charles Eamer Kempe. Reset from former east window of 1889, where the glass was blown out in World War II. Now in the North Chapel's east window. The church's own website refers to it as a "Tree of the Cross" window, but this is something of a misnomer. It certainly has a "Jesse tree" presence, with many branches, and plentiful foliage and fruit, suggesting the stages of the Christian story right from King David in the Old Testament to the apostles in the New Testament. But the cross does not come into the artistic vision here. As was his usual practice, Kempe has eschewed the conventional crucifixion scene for this (originally) main east window commission, focussing on life rather than the sacrificial death. In fact, the window illustrates his "favourite theme, the Tree of the Church" (Barlow 5).
At the top, with angels either side, is a glorious King David with his harp. In the middle row are Ezekiel (probably), a young Daniel (named) and Abraham (named), and below are St Peter with his keys, King Solomon (always a favourite figure, see Barlow 106) and St. Paul (very probably).
Closer views of St Peter, King Solomon and St Paul. Notice Kempe's wheatsheaf mark near St Peter's head.
This richly detailed window might well have been designed for Kempe by John Thomas Carter (1848-1901), described by Adrain Barlow as "arguably the artist most closely involved in establishing the Kempe style" (15). Carter had joined Kempe at the end of the 1860s, and was now his "leading draughtsman" (Barlow 23). Here then are all the hallmarks of Kempe's style: the rich, jewelled robes, swirling texts and distinctive accoutrements. Carter was the first to incorporate Kempe's wheatsheaf mark in the main body of the window: it is quite prominently placed here, just above St Peter's shoulder on the far left.
Photographs by John Salmon; text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use the 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 in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. Click on the images to enlarge them.
Bibliography
Barlow, Adrian. Espying Heaven: The Stained Glass of Charles Eamer Kempe and His Artists. Cambridge: Lutterworth, 2019 [Review].
"History of St Michael's Highgate" (church's own website). Web. 5 July 2025. https://stmichaelshighgate.org/about/history/history-of-st-michaels-highgate/
"Stained Glass Windows at St Michael Church in Highgate, Inner London." Church Stained Glass Records. Web. 6 July 2025.
Created 7 July 2025