National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London SE10
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National Maritime Museum, Romney Rd, Greenwich, London SE10 9NFRecommended by
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First World War Memorial in stained glass from the Baltic ExchangeArtist, maker and date
Designed by John Dudley Forsyth and made at Lowndes & Drury/The Glass House, Fulham, 1922. The glass was damaged by an IRA bomb in 1992. It was salvaged by Goddard & Gibbs Studios and restored at the studios from 2003-2005. The restoration was led by conservator Laura Pes.Reason for highlighting
It is possible for members of the public to get up closer than usual to some significant stained glass to admire the detail of this impressive design and the quality and opulent colours of the Edwardian glass, made by Hartley Wood in Sunderland.
It is also a tribute to the determination of the campaigners to save the memorial and to the conservation and glass painting skills of the craftspeople working at Goddard and Gibbs Studios in 2003-5.
Artist/maker notes
John Dudley Forsyth (1874-1926) was a painter, sculptor and stained glass artist, who worked with James Powell & Sons up to 1891 and then for Henry Holiday, before setting up his own studio in Hampstead in about 1900. Holiday’s passion for the human figure as a vehicle for emotion certainly influenced Forsyth’s choice and treatment of subjects in the years ahead.
Goddard & Gibbs Studios
Founded in 1868, the firm became a leader in the production and restoration of stained glass windows, aided in the 20th Century by excellent designers such as Arthur Edward Buss and his successor John Lawson. Harry Cardross was responsible for the design of Goddard &Gibb’s contemporary architectural glass Commissions, many exported worldwide. A dedicated conservation department was founded in 1994 under the leadership of Drew Anderson.
Sources:
Phillida Shaw
Stained Glass Marks & Monograms, complied by Joyce Little, and edited by Angela Goedicke & Margaret Washbourn (NADFAS, 2002)
Lowndes & Drury was formed in 1897, by the artist Mary Lowndes (1857-1929) and the craftsman Alfred John Drury (1868-1940), with the aim of providing facilities for independent artists to design and make stained glass windows. They moved from cramped conditions in Chelsea to newly purpose-built premises, The Glass House, Fulham in 1906. The firm continued after the founders’ deaths, under Alfred Drury’s son, Victor, until he retired in the early 1970s. However, The Glass House premises continued in use under Carl Edwards and subsequently his daughter, Caroline Benyon, until she moved her studio to Hampton in1992.
Source: The Journal of Stained Glass, Vol. XLI, 2017
Other comments
The half dome and five windows, originally installed in the Baltic Exchange building, 30 St Mary Axe, City of London, were commissioned as a memorial to the 60 members of the Baltic Exchange who gave their lives in World War One. The campaign to restore and relocate this magnificent scheme took 10 years to bring to fruition. The stained glass was badly damaged by an IRA bomb in 1992 and the Exchange Hall (now the site of ‘The Gherkin’) was not rebuilt.
In addition to the fine figurative work, with Victory stepping from a boat in the centre, the glass contains heraldic records of the British Empire and its Dependencies and lists the major battles of WWI.
The ‘Five Virtues’ windows portray enthroned female figures representing Truth, Justice, Fortitude, Faith and Hope.
The National Maritime Museum holds the archive of the Baltic Exchange and agreed to put the glass on permanent display in its own gallery.
Further reading: The 100 Best Stained Glass Sites in London by Caroline Swash (Malvern Arts Press, 2015)