Joan Howson and Caroline Townsend, north wall window Chapel of St Edmund and St Thomas (1922), Chichester Cathedral.

Photo: Peter Hildebrand

Chichester Cathedral, West Sussex

Address

Cathedral church of the Holy Trinity, Chichester PO19 1PX

Theme

Anglican Cathedrals in England (43)

Comments by

Peter Hildebrand

Overview

The cathedral is blessed with an extensive selection of 19th and 20th century windows, but inevitably most attention falls on the outstanding north aisle window designed by Marc Chagall and made by Atelier Simon-Marq, 1978. More details of that window can be seen on Art+Christianity’s Ecclesiart web pages, which raise awareness of significant works of modern and contemporary art since 1920 in UK churches and cathedrals.

Highlight

North wall window in the Chapel of St Edmund and St Thomas (Window 31 in the cathedral guide)

Artist, maker and date

Townshend and Howson, 1922

Reason for highlighting

While the Chagall window is breathtaking, take a moment to enjoy the quieter joys of a north nave window by Caroline Townsend and Joan Howson. It depicts St Edmund Pontigny and St Thomas Becket, and while gently understated, is beautifully executed – very fine. No photo of a window can ever replicate the effect of light on glass, and this particularly applies here, where the image gives up the subtle sparkle of natural light.

Artist/maker notes

Joan Howson (1885-1964) was a British stained glass artist of the Arts and Crafts movement. She trained at the Liverpool School of Art before becoming a student and apprentice to Caroline Townshend. They later developed a lifelong partnership creating stained glass works as, Townshend and Howson. Howson continued working under the partnership name following Townshend’s death in 1944, working principally in the repair and restoration of windows.

Source: Women Stained Glass Artists of the Arts and Craft Movement (London Borough of Waltham Forest, libraries and Arts Department, 1985)

Caroline Townshend (1878-1944) decided to take up stained glass design after two years at the Slade School in London. Having asked Christopher Whall to take her on as a pupil, she was able to completed her education by assisting in his studio, while also attending his evening classes at the Central School of Arts & Crafts, before setting up on her own in 1909. She was introduced to Joan Howson in 1912, who she took on as an apprentice. After a break for war work, they formed a partnership in 1920, where Townshend led on design, while both collaborated in the making.