Chelmsford Cathedral, Essex

Address

Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd, New St, Chelmsford CM1 1TY

Theme

Anglican Cathedrals in England (43)

Comments by

Peter Hildebrand

Overview

A parish church raised to cathedral status at the beginning of the twentieth century. The re-ordering of 1983-4 gives it more of a cathedral feel that is enhanced by some discreet stained glass, including an etched panel of St Peter, 1969, by John Hutton, famous for his panels at Coventry Cathedral.

The cathedral also has a splendid Tree of Life painting (2003-04) by Mark Cazalet that was shortlisted for Art+Christianity’s Award for Art in a Religious Context in 2005. More details can be seen on Art+Christianity’s Ecclesiart web pages, which seek to raise awareness of significant works of modern and contemporary art since 1920 in UK churches.

Highlight

Holderness window in the south aisle immediately west of the south porch entrance.

Artist, maker and date

Reason for highlighting

The finest window is in the south aisle. It was designed by Henry Holiday and made at Lowndes & Drury in 1905 and is full of movement and vitality. The window depicts the passage of the human soul along the steep path of life, through the river of death before it reaches Paradise.

Artist/maker notes

Henry Holiday (1839-1927), one of England foremost stained glass artists, was also an illustrator, painter and sculptor. After many successful years working for James Powell & Sons, in 1891 he left to set up his own independent studio, which gave him the freedom to fully control the production of his designs.

Source: Damozels & Deities: Edward Burne-Jones, Henry Holiday & Pre-Raphaelite Stained Glass 1870-1898 by William Waters and Alastair Carew-Cox, (Seraphim Press, 2017)

Lowndes & Drury was formed in 1897, by the artist Mary Lowndes (1857-1929) and the craftsman Alfred John Drury (1868-1940), with the aim of providing facilities for independent artists to design and make stained glass windows. They moved from cramped conditions in Chelsea to newly purpose-built premises, The Glass House, Fulham in 1906. The firm continued after the founders’ deaths, under Alfred Drury’s son, Victor, until he retired in the early 1970s. However, The Glass House premises continued in use under Carl Edwards and subsequently his daughter, Caroline Benyon, until she moved her studio to Hampton in1992.

Source: The Journal of Stained Glass, Vol. XLI, 2017

Highlighted dates at this location

1905 (Go to date search)