Stained Glass Tours in EnglandSherrill, Charles Hitchcock
History
Stained Glass Tours in England
Sherrill, Charles Hitchcock
Cathedrals -- England; England -- Description and travel; Glass painting and staining -- England
This public benefactor lies buried in the northern side of the chancel,
and near by there comes through an opening in the wall a large vine,
rooted outside but bearing its leaves within the church. The glass here
is limited in extent but very delicate and charming. It fills the
eastern end of the chancel, which extends a short distance further to
the east than do the two ample additions opening out from each side of
that central portion of the church. These chancel windows are composed
of four lancets each, and the treatment is the same throughout, viz., a
single figure within a canopy. The personages are of good size,
occupying about half of the entire height of the canopy. Because the
windows are near the ground, Ross affords an excellent opportunity to
examine the peculiarly delicate drawing on English glass at this time,
which far excelled any contemporary French work. The architectural
details of the canopies are carefully worked out, and each is surmounted
by seven slender pinnacles standing out clearly against their red
background. Up the sides and into the cusps of each lancet runs a light
border. A very sober use is made of the tints throughout, yielding a
harmonious _ensemble_ of colour, well set off by the soft brownish
shades used in the depicted architecture.
WARWICK
Warwick Castle should be visited in order to inspect one of the most
perfectly preserved strongholds of the Middle Ages, the many features of
interest which it contains and its picturesque situation on the river
Avon, rather than for the small amount of domestic stained glass (of the
grey and yellow stain type) to be found in the long corridor and large
banquet-room. Although worth seeing if one is there, it is not of
sufficient importance to cause a special visit. There are also some
well-preserved panels showing coats of arms at the Leicester Hospital,
but this is a form of glazing frequent in England, and it is no better
here than in many other places. There is, however, glass of great value
and beauty in the famous Beauchamp Chapel which adjoins, on the south,
the chancel of St. Mary's Church. Much interest is added to this
glazing, because the contract for it (dated June 23, 1447) is so full of
details and specifications as to throw valuable light on the conditions
and requirements of the craft at that time. After one's eyes have become
accustomed to the soft-hued English Perpendicular glass, then in the
height of its favour, it is very difficult to realise that these
windows, with their strong colouring, are of the same period as the
delicately toned ones which we have seen at Great Malvern and elsewhere.
The explanation is provided in the contract. It there appears that the
executors of Richard Earl of Warwick were not satisfied with the then
prevailing English system of soft tints, and also that they were
sufficiently advised of the state of the art on the other side of the
Channel to realise that the richer hues which they demanded could be
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account