Church of St Mary & St Nicholas, Chetwode, Buckinghamshire
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Church of Saint Mary & Saint Nicholas, School End, Chetwode, Buckinghamshire, MK18 4LBRecommended by
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North aisle windowArtist, maker and date
Leonard Walker, 1945Reason for highlighting
This window of St George slaying the dragon is a typical example of Leonard Walker’s distinctive style – slabs of multi-veined streaky glass and strong lead lines, with just a little paint, which in this case he has used to create a rather comical expression on St George’s face as he spears the dragon.
Walker was assisted in the window’s creation by Robert Pearce, whose name is included in the window.
Artist/maker notes
Leonard Walker (1877-1964) studied at the St John’s Wood Arts School, where he later became principal. He worked in the Arts & Crafts tradition and hoped that his approach might have heralded a new future for British stained glass, but it was too reliant on specialist glass manufacture and his own design skills.
He was also an Olympian, competing in the 1928 games in Painting, Drawing and Watercolours.
Sources:
Leonard Walker on Olympedia
Arts & Craft Stained Glass by Peter Cormack (Yale University Press, 2015)
Other comments
The chancel south windows have what is thought to be the earliest example of the Royal Arms in stained glass. The glass was originally in the east window and was moved to its present location along with other thirteenth and fourteenth century glass by William Holland of Warwick in 1842, at which point the east window was reglazed in a similar style.