Church of St Andrew, Cuffley, Hertfordshire
Address
Church of St Andrew, Cuffley 26 Plough Hill, Cuffley, Potters Bar EN6 4DRRecommended by
Highlight
Scheme of 13 fused panels in the naveArtist, maker and date
Designed by Alfred Fisher and made by James Powell & Sons, 1965-6Reason for highlighting
One of the great benefits of being a member of the British Society of Master Glass Painters is standing in front of a window and hearing an artist talk about their work. I just love Alf’s stained glass but I was unaware of his fused work until we visited Cuffley and he talked to us about it.
During the 1960’s Keith Cummings at Powells experimented with fusing sheets of flashed glass. When Cummings left the firm and it was left to Alf to develop the technique from experimental to practical applications. This included the use of grated asbestos on the kiln shelves to give the glass a wonderful texture that held the light (goodness knows what it did to their lungs). The fusing temperature was crucial, as Alf wanted the glass to be smooth but stepped.
Returning to see the panels over forty years later, Alf seemed really chuffed with the glass. The light in the church was soft and subdued and I found the masterful colour pallet very moving. From the outside the building is easily dismissed but the glass within is breath taking and transforms the building into a truly sacred space.
Artist/maker notes
Alfred Fisher MBE FMGP FRSA (b. 1933) trained at Liverpool Arts College before joining James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd, where he developed his own distinctive style. In 1973 he co-founded Chapel Studios and worked there until retiring, mixing new work with important conservation projects. Now retired, his legacy of work can be found across the country, including Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Chequers and the Guildhall.
Source: Alfred Fisher website
James Powell & Sons was formed when James Powell purchased Whitefriars Glass, an old established glass works, in 1834. His sons developed the business to be one of the major firms of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Especially notable is their work with Charles Winston in the 1840s and 1850s to improve the quality of glass available, and the many fine designers with whom they worked. The company’s innovations extended beyond stained glass, with the company developing a formidable reputation in a number of fields, including tableware glass, where Whitefriars Glass remains highly collectable. The stained glass department finally closed in 1973, and the company in 1980.
Sources:
James Powell & Sons, Whitefriars by Jacqueline Banerjee, PhD, Associate Editor, The Victorian Web
Victorian & Edwardian Stained Glass by Marta Galicki (Historic England, reprinted by Morris & Juliet Venables, 2001)
Other comments
Alfred Fisher return to Cuffley in 1978 to make an additional north wall panel for the north transept with his new firm, Chapel Studios.