St Asaph Cathedral, Denbighshire
Address
Cathedral Church of St Asaph, 25 High Street, Saint Asaph LL17 0RDTheme
Overview
Small medieval cathedral church of a bishopric founded in the twelfth century. Nearly all of the stained glass at the cathedral is the work of Ward & Hughes, and latterly by Curtis, Ward & Hughes. A restoration of the chancel in 1800 resulted in the addition of stained glass by Francis Eginton, but this was displaced at the time of the restoration of the chancel by George Gilbert Scott. The heraldic panels by Eginton are found in the south transept, and the pictorial panels were installed elsewhere at Llandegla. A window of the founder of the church Cyndeyrn (Kentigern) and his successor Asaph are depicted in a window by James Powell & Sons, and the west window is by Christopher Charles Powell.
Highlight
East windowArtist, maker and date
Ward & Hughes, 1864Reason for highlighting
The east window by Ward & Hughes is probably the largest work in Wales by a prolific and hugely successful Victorian firm. It stands as the starting point for a succession of windows at the cathedral by the firm into the twentieth century, illustrating the changes in the firm’s style.
Artist/maker notes
Ward & Hughes / Curtis, Ward & Hughes
The original partnership was between Thomas Ward (1808-70) and Henry Hughes (1822-83), who became the chief designer, while also producing windows under his own name. On his death the firm was taken over by a relative Thomas Figgis Curtis (1845-1924). The firm continued for a few years after Curtis’s death, in the hands of a cousin, Mrs Ethel Kibblewhite.
Sources:
A Guide to the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin Swaffham Prior, 3rd Edition, 2016
Victorian Stained Glass by Martin Harrison (Barrie & Jenkins Ltd, 1980)
Comments by
Martin Crampin