Shrewsbury Roman Catholic Cathedral, Shropshire
Address
The Cathedral Church of Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Peter of Alcantara, Town Walls, Shrewsbury SY3 1TNOverview
The cousins Margaret Agnes Rope (1882-1953) of Shrewsbury (professional name: Margaret Rope, later Sister Margaret of the Mother of God) and Margaret Edith Aldrich Rope (1891-1988) of Leiston (professional name M E A Rope or M E Aldrich Rope) were prominent international stained-glass artists in the Arts & Crafts idiom. Their work can be seen in many churches and other buildings in England, Scotland and Wales as well as in Australia, Italy, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and the USA.
Although their lives and styles diverged, they worked together at the start of their careers and again right at the end of the elder Margaret’s life.
Shrewsbury Cathedral has seven important windows by the elder, Margaret Agnes Rope. Six in the body of the cathedral and one in the Sacristy. They demonstrate how her style developed, especially the important Seminary Martyrs window (1920s).
Highlight
The Great West windowArtist, maker and date
Margaret Agnes Rope, 1910Reason for highlighting
The Great West window was Margaret Rope’s first major commission, but demonstrates many of the features and characteristics that would be developed in her later work. Its success launched her career as a mature and accomplished stained glass artist and maker.
Other comments
There is some uncertainty as to where the window was made. The rumour that it was made at home seem improbable given the scale of the task. It is perhaps more likely that she used the studio facilities of her teacher, Henry Payne.
Margaret Rope’s work is preceded by a number of windows designed by Joseph Aloysius Pippet for John Hardman & Co, including the east window (1862). Pippet also contributed to the decorative scheme, including the Sacred Heart Chapel, painted in medieval style in 1885.
The cathedral has recently completed a project to restore and conserve this Grade II* Listed Pugin designed building.
Artist/maker notes
Margaret Agnes Rope (1882-1953) was born in Shrewsbury and studied at the Birmingham School of Art, where – within a range of disciplines – she studied stained glass under Henry Payne. After the death of her father she joined the Roman Catholic church, and her faith became an overwhelmingly important focus of her life and work.
She began working from home, before moving to work at Lowndes & Drury in London. Initially, she directly supervised the work, but in 1923 she became a Carmelite nun. She continued making windows at the Monastery, sending the glass by train to Lowndes & Drury to be cut, fired and leaded up.
Sources:
The Margaret Rope Stained glass website
Margaret Rope of Shrewsbury by Arthur Rope (Pangapilot Publications, 2016)
The Two Margaret Ropes: Arts and Crafts Stained Glass Artists by Arthur Rope (Blurb, 2017)
Comments by
Arthur Rope