Church of St Michael and St John, West Ashton, Wiltshire
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Church of St Michael and St John, West Ashton, Wiltshire BA14 6ATRecommended by
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East windowArtist, maker and date
Designed by Henry Wilson and made by James Powell & Sons, 1919Reason for highlighting
This is a large arched First World War Memorial window of larger than life figures of an Angel and a man praying and kneeling. He is dressed in shining armour, a rather common, theatrical device of the time.
In addition to its strong Arts & Crafts design theme, a distinguishing feature is the glass painting, the treatment is bold and beautifully done. The paint is dark but the tones are modulated by heavy stippling and some rubbing technique giving a speckled texture. Yet tonally it is perfectly controlled, particularly in the head of the figure.
Artist/maker notes
Henry Wilson (1864-1934) worked in a highly individual style, uniting influences from the Arts & Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau with his own interpretation of traditional forms, symbols and nature. He began his career as Chief Assistant to the Gothic Revival architect J. D. Sedding, but felt increasingly drawn to the associated arts: church furnishings, sculpture, metalworking, jewellery and stained glass.
Source: Henry Wilson Practical Idealist by Cyndy Manton (James Clarke and Co Ltd, 2009)
James Powell & Sons was formed when James Powell purchased Whitefriars Glass, an old established glass works, in 1834. His sons developed the business to be one of the major firms of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Especially notable is their work with Charles Winston in the 1840s and 1850s to improve the quality of glass available, and the many fine designers with whom they worked. The company’s innovations extended beyond stained glass, with the company developing a formidable reputation in a number of fields, including tableware glass, where Whitefriars Glass remains highly collectable. The stained glass department finally closed in 1973, and the company in 1980.
Sources:
James Powell & Sons, Whitefriars by Jacqueline Banerjee, PhD, Associate Editor, The Victorian Web
Victorian & Edwardian Stained Glass by Marta Galicki (Historic England, reprinted by Morris & Juliet Venables, 2001)