Heaton, Butler & Bayne, original chancel east window (1863), Church of St John the Evangelist, Highwood, Colchester, Essex.

Photo: Chris Parkinson

Heaton, Butler & Bayne, original chancel south wall window (1863), Church of St John the Evangelist, Highwood, Colchester, Essex.

Photo: Peter Hildebrand

Church of St John the Evangelist, Colchester, Essex

Address

Church of St John the Evangelist, Highwoods, Colchester, Essex CO4 0HP

Recommended by

Chris Parkinson (10)

Highlight

Complete glazing scheme in the original chancel

Artist, maker and date

Heaton, Butler & Bayne, 1863

Reason for highlighting

The church was built in 1862-3 by the architect A. W. Blomfield in a ‘Rogue Gothic’ style. The church was much enlarged in 1988 but Blomfield’s original church still remains at the core of the present building. During the late 1850’s and early 1860’s several new stained-glass firms started trading, their young designers bringing fresh ideas regarding design and making use of new brightly coloured glass. Blomfield engaged one of these new firms, Heaton, Butler and Bayne, to glaze all the chancel windows.

Complete glazing schemes by one company over a short period of time are comparatively rare and the one here is particularly good. Figures are carefully designed to fit into individual lights and the colour palate can only be described as glorious.

Other comments

The firm of Heaton , Butler & Bayne continued after the retirement of the initial founders, finally closing in 1953. There is an example of their work from c. 1927 on the north side of the original nave wall. It takes its inspiration from Holman Hunt’s famous painting ‘The Light of the World’, but the colours are very subdued compared to the fireworks in the chancel.

Artist/maker notes

Heaton, Butler & Bayne
Clement Heaton (1824-82) and James Butler (1830-1913) went into partnership in London in 1855. A close relationship with the firm of Clayton & Bell led to Clayton’s outstanding pupil, Robert Turnill Bayne (1837-1915), joining the firm in 1862. Bayne, along with his younger colleague, Alfred Hassam (1843-69) drove the firm’s development, and their windows from 1862 – c.1868 placed them in the top rank for that most creative period.

One of the largest and most prolific studios of the nineteenth century, the business survived until the death of RT Bayne’s grandson Basil Richard Bayne in 1953.

Further reading:
Angels & Icons: Pre-Raphaelite Stained Glass 1850-1870 by William Waters (Seraphim Press Ltd 2012)
Nineteenth century Norfolk stained glass by Haward, Birkin (University of East Anglia / Centre of East Anglian Studies, 1984)
Victorian Stained Glass by Martin Harrison (Barrie & Jenkins Ltd, 1980)

Highlighted dates at this location

1863 (Go to date search)

All artists mentioned at this location

Heaton, Butler & Bayne