Church of St Lawrence, Longridge, Lancashire
Address
Church of St Lawrence, Chapel Hill, Longridge, Lancashire PR3 2YDRecommended by
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Gallery windowsArtist, maker and date
Brian Clarke, 1975-76Reason for highlighting
The ten pairs of windows in the galleries of the church are an important early scheme by Brian Clarke. The juxtaposition of his windows with the rest of the interior and with the setting in a wider sense is striking and successful. The bright blues and greens and subtly different configurations of shapes and colours make reference to and interact with the local scenery. One of his earliest commissions, the Longridge windows were important in Clarke’s artistic development. He said of them:
‘I think that was the first time I really knew that I wanted to alter the building, I wanted to make a contribution to the building as a whole.’
Artist/maker notes
Sir Brian Clarke (b.1953) is a world renowned, painter and architectural artist. Born in Oldham, his studies in England were enhanced by a scholarship to study contemporary continental stained glass, which helped open him to the potential for stained glass and its application to both religious and secular buildings.
Subsequently, his practice in architectural and autonomous stained glass, often on a monumental scale, has led to successive innovation and invention in fabrication, in a way that has radically stretched the boundaries of what the medium can do and express.
Sources:
Brian Clarke website
Colours of Architecture – Coloured Glass in Contemporary Buildings by Andrew Moor, Mitchell Beazley, 2006
Other comments
Also in the church is a First World War memorial east window by Shrigley & Hunt and south nave windows of 1938-40 by designed by Harry Stammers of James Powell & Sons.