Gray’s Inn Chapel, London WC1
Address
Gray’s Inn Chapel, Gray’s Inn Square, London WC1R 5ETRecommended by
Highlight
First World War Memorial windowArtist, maker and date
Christopher Whall, 1920Reason for highlighting
This fine window is a poignant First World War memorial to the young men of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, 1st and 2nd London Welsh Battalions from Gray’s Inn, in which the chapel stands, and which is one of the four Inns of Court.
St Michael stands between St George for England and St Louis for France. All three appear almost as young boys. St Michael, clothed in iridescent armour and sporting beautiful wings, appears to be almost absentmindedly using his sword to pierce the nose of a green dragon baring impressive fangs defeated beneath his feet.
The panel below shows the bridge that once spanned the road connecting South Square with Gray’s Inn Square (which was destroyed in the Blitz and rebuilt, then demolished in 1970s and rebuilt again in 2011)
Artist/maker notes
Christopher Whitworth Whall (1849-1924) was one of the most prominent artists in the Arts & Crafts Movement, not only through his own work, but also through the influence he had on other artists as a teacher and writer. He taught at both the Central School of Arts and Crafts and the Royal College of Arts, and his 1905 book ‘Stained Glass Works’ is still widely regarded as the most inspirational work of its type.
Sources:
Arts & Crafts Stained Glass by Peter Cormack (Yale University Press for The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 2015)
The Stained Glass Work of Christopher Whall by Peter Cormack (The Charles J Connick Stained Glass Foundation, 1999)
Other comments
The other stained glass panels in the Chapel depict either coats of arms or bishops and archbishops.
The Whall window is flanked to the west by a striking portrayal of Bishop Lancelot Andrewes by Selwyn Image, 1907, and to the east by Bishop Gilbert Sheldon by Robert Anning Bell, 1920. Bell also made two panels which are now displayed in light boxes showing Archbishops Bancroft and Williams.
The east window by George Ostrehan, and installed in the years 1893-99, commemorates four archbishops who were either members or preachers of Gray’s Inn: Whitgift, Juxon, Wake and Laud. The centre panel depicts Thomas Becket, who was also included in the first mention of stained glass in the Chapel in 1539.