Royal Memorial Chapel, Sandhurst, Surrey
Address
Royal Memorial Chapel , The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst Camberley, Surrey GU15 4PQTheme
Overview
Lawrence Lee (1909 – 2011) was one of the most distinguished stained glass artists of the 20th century. It is not surprising therefore that a number of contributors chose to include one of his windows in their selections. But there is much more to say and to celebrate about this wonderful artist.
A Theme has therefore been dedicated to the work of Lawrence Lee. The windows highlighted within the Theme have been chosen in conjunction with his son, Stephen Lee, to highlight some of his father’s best work.
A full list of the windows chosen can be found by following the link above. There you will also find two papers written by one of his former assistants, Philippa Martin, covering his life and his most famous achievement, the masterminding of the ten nave windows of Coventry Cathedral.
Highlight
Four nave windowsArtist, maker and date
Lawrence Lee, 1964Reason for highlighting
As noted above, these windows are part of a selection made in conjunction with Lawrence Lee’s son, Stephen Lee.
The four windows are divided equally between the north and south walls of the nave to dramatic effect.
Moving from east to west the first south wall window is ‘The Junior Officers’ window and is dedicated ‘..to the memory of young officers who have given their lives in war before reaching man’s estate..’ The second depicts St Alban, the first recorded British martyr. The window is shown opposite and is described by Lawrence Lee as follows
The figure of St. Alban, the first English martyr, is shown as a young Roman soldier holding his emblems of sword and cross and wearing a rich cloak. He stands on a base which is an abstraction of the west front of St Alban’s Abbey, surrounded by areas of green to represent England’s green and pleasant land. Beneath this will be seen a suggestion of a classical façade which alludes to the Roman city of Verulamium (now St. Albans), while the centre base is the red cross of England and St. George. The form of a processional cross and a Bishop’s crozier are placed on either side of the lower feature. In the head of the window the cross incorporates the eagle – – at once the standard of the Roman armies and the symbol of the Evangel.
On the north side of the nave, again going from east to west, the first window represents St Barbara, patroness of artillery and ordnance. The second St Catherine, ‘Holy Kate’, patroness of learning, young women and scholars. The window is shown opposite and is described by Lawrence Lee as follows
Using the proportions of base, figure, canopy, I have tried to get our Holy Kate out of the atmosphere of “Lives of the Saints” into something timeless. A slightly explosive figure in glass robes of no known type or period, canopied above by a crown and flutter of the Spirit’s wings. Standing on an abstracted spiked wheel through which is broken a figure of Ignorance; as the wheel turns she makes a grasp at the open book of learning.
The open book can be read and has texts relating to Wisdom. The left-hand page quotes Proverbs 9 v 1-3:
‘…Wisdom hath builded her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars: She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. She hath sent forth her maidens…’
The right hand page quotes from the Epistle of St James 3 v 17-18:
‘…But the wisdom that is from above is first pure… full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace…’
Artist/maker notes
Lawrence Stanley Lee FMGP (1909 – 2011) trained at Kingston Art School and the Royal College of Art before the war. After the war he worked for Martin Travers, and it was Travers’ unexpected death in 1948, which led to Lee forming his own studio. A wide range of commissions followed, including his famous windows at Coventry Cathedral, with Keith New and Geoffrey Clarke, which established his reputation. Lee was also a teacher both formally at the Royal College of Art, and in his studio to a succession of assistants. He was notable in acknowledging the contribution of his assistants by including their initials on windows, along with his own.
Other comments
Lawrence Lee was assisted in the making of the windows by Alan Younger.
The above windows are part of a collection of more than 20 windows created by Lawrence Lee for the Chapel. Of particular note are the three windows in the South Africa Chapel designed in 1969 and installed in 1970. They are dedicated to the memory of Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers who have served in the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Their theme is the Living Christ rising from a disrupted image of the world into a triumphant figure transformed by light flanked by the Archangels Gabriel and Michael.