Peterborough Cathedral, Cambridgeshire
Address
Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, PeterboroughTheme
Overview
The cathedral’s medieval glass was destroyed during the Civil War, but some fragments have been re-set in the apse. In 1855 the painting of the apse ceiling was entrusted to the young Richard Clayton (1827-1913). With his partner Alfred Bell (1832-95) he would add a number of windows in the 1860s, the east window of the south quire of 1863 being a particularly interesting example of his work.
A number of studios made windows for the cathedral in the 1860s, and the work of Clayton & Bell, Heaton, Butler & Bayne, Michael O’Connor, and Cox & Sons can be compared in the north transept. While in the south transept there is another 1860s window in a rather different style designed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and made by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.
Highlight
East window of St Benedict’s chapel, south transeptArtist, maker and date
WT Carter Shapland, 1958Reason for highlighting
Amongst 20th century additions to the cathedral’s collection of stained glass windows the standout contribution is by WT Carter Shapland. Installed in 1958, it tells part of the story of the cathedral, together with the theme of the triumph of good over evil. His magnificent great west window at Chester Cathedral is also well worth seeking out for comparison.
Artist/maker notes
William Thomas ‘Tom’ Carter Shapland (1925-1972) came from a Devon farming family. He was trained and worked for five years under the supervision of Arthur Erridge for J. Wippell & Co of Exeter, Devon.
In the early 1950s he was working as a designer with Barton, Kinder and Alderson in Brighton, Sussex. At this time his designs were figurative and called for traditional techniques of manufacture.
Tom then became a freelance artist, adopting the ploughshare as his maker’s mark, reminiscent of his farming background.
Source: Stained Glass Marks & Monograms, complied by Joyce Little, and edited by Angela Goedicke & Margaret Washbourn (NADFAS, 2002)