Church of St Thomas the Martyr, Winchelsea, East Sussex
Address
Church of St Thomas the Martyr, Monk’s Walk, Winchelsea, East Sussex TN36 4ABRecommended by
Highlight
Six windows on the east and south side collectively known as the Younger Memorial and three windows in the Lady Chapel, collectively known as the War Memorial.Artist, maker and date
Douglas Strachan, 1928-33Reason for highlighting
It must have been a brave decision to engage an artist such as Strachan to glaze almost every window in the former chancel of what was a very large 13th -14th century church, but the 9 windows that were glazed by Strachan between 1928-33, taken as a whole, are both an impressive and memorable sight. Predominantly composed of blues, purples and reds, with much white glass and close leading, the glass has an expressionist feel but could be described as ‘busy’, especially the east window, with perhaps influences from Christopher Whall and Edward Burne-Jones. A must see set of windows!
Artist/maker notes
Robert Douglas Strachan (1875-1950) was born in Aberdeen and initially trained as an artist. Indeed Strachan admitted later in life that he had been slow to realise that stained glass would be the best outlet for his artistic vision. It was a vision that enabled him to become the foremost British stained glass artist of the generation after Christopher Whall. From 1909 to 1911 he was head of the Crafts Section at the recently founded Edinburgh College of Art, before handing over to his brother, Alexander, through pressure of work. His windows are found throughout Scotland and England, and are recognisable for their bold use of colour, and strong sculptural design and use of lead. Overseas he is renowned for his windows at the Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Sources:
In Praise of Douglas Strachan by Peter Cormack, Journal of Stained Glass, Vol. XXX, 2006
Arts & Crafts Stained Glass by Peter Cormack (Yale University Press for The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 2015)
ECA Glass Alumni Exhibition Catalogue, pages 11-12
Other comments
The church’s website has some more notes on the windows