Christ Church, Southwark, London SE1
Address
Christ Church, Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London SE1 8NYRecommended by
Highlight
Scheme of ten nave windowsArtist, maker and date
Designed by F. W. Cole and Kenneth Bunton and made by J Wippell & Co Ltd, 1960-61Reason for highlighting
Unique set of windows by Frederick Cole, with assistance from Ken Bunton, on the theme of ‘Work and Worship’ depicting ordinary people, local trades and Southwark landmarks all with exceptional realism and attention to contemporary detail.
Artist/maker notes
Frederick Walter Cole (1908-1998) was an apprentice at William Morris & Co before the war and became their chief designer after the war. The studio closed in 1958 and Cole joined Wippell & Co, before setting up his own studio in Fulham in 1961. This ran to 1970, after which he founded the Stained Glass Workshop, Canterbury. He continued designing for the workshop until his death.
Source: Stained Glass Marks & Monograms, complied by Joyce Little, and edited by Angela Goedicke & Margaret Washbourn (NADFAS, 2002)
Kenneth Gordon ‘Ken’ Bunton AMGP (1924-2014) was born in Tokyo and came to England with his family in 1932. In 1941 he inflated his age so he could join the Fleet Air Arm. During the war he demonstrated his artistic talents in comical sketches sent home, prompting a family friend to suggest he should try his hand at stained glass. In 1945 he enrolled in a four year part-time course at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, which he combined with an apprenticeship at A K Nicholson Studio and a period at James Powell & Sons.
From 1952 he worked as a freelance designer for J Wippell & Co in Exeter, before setting up his own studio in his house in Sevenoaks, Kent, in 1961. Although based in England, many of his designs were for churches in New Zealand as a result of a successful partnership with Roy Miller, which was particularly productive in the 1960s. However, there are at least 35 designs for windows in the UK, with perhaps his most important being at Christ Church, Southwark, where he worked in collaboration with Frederick Cole.
Source: Capturing Light – Roy Miller New Zealand Stained Glass Artist by Brian Miller (Lifelogs, 2016)
J Wippell & Co Ltd are clerical outfitters and suppliers of church furnishings based in Exeter, Devon. They expanded into the production and restoration of stained glass windows. Designers included G Cooper-Abbs, Frederick W Cole, A F Erridge and Ken Bunton.
Sources:
J Wippell & Co website
Stained Glass Marks & Monograms, complied by Joyce Little, and edited by Angela Goedicke & Margaret Washbourn (NADFAS, 2002)
Other comments
The church was rebuilt in 1959 and retains most of its original fittings. It is Grade II listed primarily on the basis of the FW Cole windows. There are two sanctuary windows also by Cole, 1960, along with a second set of windows by John Lawson of Goddard & Gibbs, 1984, featuring contemporary scenes and local organisations which sponsored them (e.g. Sainsbury’s).