Church of St Michael and All Angels, Blewbury, Oxfordshire
Address
Church of St Michael and All Angels, Church End, Blewbury, Didcot OX11 9QHRecommended by
Highlight
Tower west window and six adjacent glass panelsArtist, maker and date
Rachel Phillips and Linda Norris, 2020Reason for highlighting
The west window is a fine example of not only of great design, but also of the artist taking the setting of the window fully into account, a feature too often honoured only in the breach.
The window itself was made to celebrate bell ringing in the church, with the design centred around eight different sized circular forms which represent the eight bells. The window is integrated into its setting within the church by six glass banners, which symbolise the church’s earlier contingent of six bells and contain bell ringers’ methods- the codified ‘music’ used for bell ringing. The window is integrated with the wider community beyond the church by lighting that generates a comforting glow at night, when the church is locked and the bells are silent.
Artist/maker notes
Rachel Phillips (b.1973) is a stained glass artist whose practice is predominantly concerned with the use of glass in architecture. Specializing in traditional stained glass techniques Rachel has a particular interest in mediaeval glass painting. She has designed and made many architectural and stained glass commissions for churches and other public and private buildings across the UK, most recently completing the Resound window for the Church of St Michael and All Angels, Blewbury, Oxfordshire.
Rachel lectured for over 15 years at the internationally renowned Swansea School of Glass, UWTSD from which she graduated in 2000, specializing in glass painting and continues to deliver workshops and masterclasses around the country.
In 2016 she and her long-time creative partner, Linda Norris, formed Studio Melyn to facilitate their increasing body of collaborative projects which has included windows for two World Heritage sites, Conwy Castle and Beaumaris Castle.
Linda Norris (b.1960) has been a painter for 35 years and began working in glass 12 years ago. She works with various media and is constantly trying to find the best way to express her ideas.
Her inspiration remains firmly rooted in landscape and her work is driven by a desire to move away from pictorial representation to make work fuelled by ideas that underpin and investigate a sense of place.
She has won a number of awards for her work in glass, including winning the international Warm Glass Prize in 2012 and the Adrian Henri poetry in Art Prize in 2013. She has exhibited at the British Glass Biennale in 2015 and 2017. Shw is currently developing new work in glass in response to the corona virus crisis.
As Studio Melyn she works with Rachel Phillips. Since 2012 they have completed architectural glass commissions for Cadw at Conwy and Beaumaris Castles in North Wales, in a local sheltered housing scheme in Pembrokeshire, Skokholm Island and in 2019 they completed Resound, an installation in glass and mirror for Blewbury Church in Oxfordshire. They are currently working on a design for a stained glass window for Caernarfon Castle in North Wales.
Other comments
Also of interest are two windows designed by John Francis Bentley, the architect of Westminster Cathedral. The chancel east window (1887) and a single light window in the north aisle (1888).