Chester cathedral, Cheshire

Address

Cathedral church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Werburgh St, Chester CH1 2DY

Theme

Anglican Cathedrals in England (43)

Comments by

Peter Hildebrand

Overview

The Cathedral has unfortunately lost nearly all its medieval glass, although the fragments that remain give a tantalising glimpse of what was once there. Happily since Victorian times there has been a steady replacement of the plain glazing. Many of the major Victorian firms are represented and of particular note is the Nativity scene, 1857, by Michael and Arthur O’Connor in St Werburgh’s chapel. In the 20th century there are particularly notable contributions in the nave south wall by Alan Younger, c.1992, and in the great west window by W. T. Carter Shapland, 1961.

Highlight

Six light Creation window in the refectory

Artist, maker and date

Ros Grimshaw, 2001

Reason for highlighting

The most eye catching window is in the refectory, where Rosalind Grimshaw’s 2001 interpretation of the six days of creation is an arresting explosion of colour and form. It is widely regarded as her masterpiece.

Artist/maker notes

Rosalind Grimshaw FMGP (1945-2020) was the daughter of a German-Jewish refugee. She studied fine art at Brighton, Ravensbourne and Hornsey before moving to Bristol, where she trained in stained glass with Joseph Bell & Sons. Despite being diagnosed with Parkinson’s in the early 1980’s Rosalind continued creating her much applauded works over the next 35 years, at times using sheer concentration to overcome her tiredness and uncontrollable shaking, and always doing the cutting and choosing of the glass herself.

Sources:
Edinburgh Parkinson’s – Rosalind Grimshaw Obituary
Rosalind Grimshaw obituary by Patrick Costeloe in The Journal of Stained Glass, Vol. XLIV, 2020

Highlighted dates at this location

2001 (Go to date search)