Church of St John the Baptist, Penshurst, Kent
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Church of St John the Baptist, High St, Penshurst, Tonbridge TN11 8BLRecommended by
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Becket window at the west end of the south aisleArtist, maker and date
Lawrence Lee, 1970Reason for highlighting
The Becket window in the south-west corner of the church was given by parishioners and friends to mark the 800th anniversary of the institution of the village’s first priest, Wilhelmus, in 1170, by Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. The ceremony took place just 2 days before Becket’s murder.
As usual with Lee, the window carries both his own mark and initials of the assistant working with him on a particular project, here Janet Christopherson.
Lawrence Lee’s book, ‘The Appreciation of Stained Glass’ was especially significant when I started learning about stained glass as he illustrated not only the history of stained glass and how it had been made but also an appreciation of glass as an art form and how it might be approached as such by a practitioner. In a medium where one can easily get lost in technical knowledge it is still a joy to read his thoughts on great glass painting having ‘an extreme economy of means and intention which nevertheless bewitches us with its beauty and personality and is comparable to such acknowledged works of art as Chinese calligraphy, the Tassili cave paintings or even Picasso drawings.’ (The Appreciation of Stained glass by Lawrence Lee, Oxford University Press, 1977. p59)
This window is both a hymn of celebration to the heraldry found throughout the church as well as an expression of his approach as an artist to play with and not strictly observe the protocols of heraldry, symbolism and stained-glass traditions and instead to concentrate on the effect of line, colour and form in this monumental art.
Artist/maker notes
Lawrence Stanley Lee (1909–2011) trained at Kingston Art School and the Royal College of Art before the war. After the war he worked for Martin Travers, and it was Travers’ unexpected death in 1948, which led to Lee forming his own studio. A wide range of commissions followed, including his famous windows at Coventry Cathedral, with Keith New and Geoffrey Clarke. Lee was also a teacher both formally at the Royal College of Art, and in his studio to a succession of assistants. He was notable in acknowledging the contribution of his assistants by including their initials on windows, along with his own.
Other comments
Lawrence Lee’s own description of the Becket window is available here.
Philippa Martin, who wrote the introduction to the theme, Lawrence Lee – A celebration, made the following comments in relation Lawrence Lee’s work and the Becket window in particular. They were published as part of an appreciation in the September 2009 edition of the online magazine Vidimus, to mark his 100th birthday.
As an artist Lawrence drew most from the medieval period. His composition, which developed over the years into his own personal style, owed far more to medieval configuration and colour than the rigid Victorian influences surrounding him, despite his traditional training in Martin Travers’ studio and a deep admiration for his mentor’s work. His knowledge of history, history of art, and fascination for science is vast and lends an extra dimension to all his design. His distinctive semi-abstracted figures weave and intertwine through heraldry and foliage, in most of his windows, each piece of glass etched, painted and stained. This is well illustrated in his Becket window, at Penshurst, where every tiny section works by itself. Even the borders receive special treatment often printed with specially designed stamps. The jewel-like colours are enhanced by the liberal use of ‘whites’ and the very small size of the cut pieces. The touch of the master is seen in the expressive painting, especially the faces.
Lawrence Lee was assisted in the making of the window by Janet Christopherson.
There is also a fabulous heraldic panel from 1627 in the West Window. The remaining stained glass is Victorian.