Church of St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney High Street, London E1
Address
Church of St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney High Street, London E1 0NRRecommended by
Highlight
East windowArtist, maker and date
Designed by Hugh Easton and made by Hendra & Harper, 1949Reason for highlighting
In its lower section, the window contains an exceptionally detailed panorama of the post-Blitz East End surrounding the church as it would have looked immediately after the war, with the church itself, gasometers, chimneys, cranes, and bombed-out terraced housing. The quality of the glass-painting and the level of detail are stunning.
Artist/maker notes
Hugh Easton (1906-65) was born in London and trained in Guildford with Ninian Comper’s former pupil, W. H. Randoll Blacking.
In the early 1930’s he established his first studio in Cambridge, with his windows being made until 1935 by the local firm of W.H. Constable & Co. However, he soon discovered that if he found “an artist who could paint and interpret one’s drawings, a far greater technical mastery was achieved.” This ultimately led to all his design’s being realised by Hendra and Harper.
“Stylistically Easton’s work derives from Sir Ninian Comper and his pupil Christopher Webb with whom Easton was on ‘weekly visiting’ terms at Webb’s Orchard House Studio in St Albans.”
Source: Hugh Easton by Caroline Swash, 2004 – Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Hendra & Harper is most closely associated with the work of Hugh Easton, producing all his greatest windows, including his famous Battle of Britain window in Westminster Abbey.
The two partners, Robert Leslie Hendra (1912-1968) and Geoffrey Felix Harper (1913-66) first met in at Easton’s London studio. Hendra had trained with Martin Travers and started working for Easton in the early 1930s. While Harper joined later in 1935 following his initial training in stained glass at John Hardman &Co.
Following the war, and with encouragement from Easton, they formed a partnership with a studio in Harpenden, making all Easton’s windows along with the partners’ own stained glass, engraved glass, painted ceilings, and murals.
Source: A Life in Glass – Portrait of a Stained Glass Artist – The life and work of Geoffrey Felix Harper by Francesca Stevens (2018)
Other comments
The church has two further windows by Hugh Easton made in 1952. They are good examples of Easton’s distinctive style and contents. These are not to everyone’s taste, but as Easton won so many important post-war commissions including the Battle of Britain window in Westminster Abbey, they are worth a look.