Church of St Nicholas, East Grafton, Wiltshire
Address
Church of St Nicholas, The Green, East Grafton, Wiltshire SN8 3DBRecommended by
Highlight
Apse window of St MargaretArtist, maker and date
Heaton, Butler and Bayne, 1888Reason for highlighting
The 3 windows in the apse look absolutely great in combination with the painted walls and window reveals. The wall painting is geometric, floral ornamentation while the glass designs are unusually devoid of pattern or border. The glass is mostly white with brown paint and silver stain, some patches of red and a beautiful piece of light blue in St Margaret’s palm leaf. The billowing clouds make a complete contrast with the patterned walls, they give the windows a feeling that is so light and full of air although they are heavily painted.
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)
Other comments
This is a Victorian church designed in the Romanesque style by Benjamin Ferrey in the 1840s, with a decorative interior scheme by Thomas Willement.