The Priory Church of Our Lady and St Cuthbert, Worksop
Address
The Priory Church of Our Lady and St Cuthbert, Priorswell Road, Worksop S80 2BURecommended by
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West windowArtist, maker and date
Designed by Helen Whittaker and made at Barley Studio, 2003Reason for highlighting
A large and powerful window showing St Cuthbert, commissioned to mark the 900th anniversary of the foundation of the Priory. Cuthbert is shown carrying the crowned head of King Oswald, his emblem; the other hand is raised in blessing. He stands in episcopal robes at the water’s edge, where the otters which warmed his feet attend him. On either side, roundels depict the eider ducks and raven of his tradition. The background includes scrolling derived from the mid-14th century ironwork of the Priory South door and motifs from the Tickhill Psalter, originally in the Priory library. Other patterns relate to architectural details within the building and from Romanesque art. The result is a work which is rooted in its locality as well as making creative use of traditional iconography.
The image combines monumental qualities with human touches, in which the grave demeanour and direct gaze of the saint helps to create the feeling of a proprietorial and protective presence looking over the church.
Artist/maker notes
Helen Whittaker MBE FMGP is a renowned artist and designer, highly regarded for her new stained glass windows and architectural sculpture in glass and copper.
Helen studied art and design at both the University of Sunderland and the Prince of Wales’s Institute of Architecture, London, in both cases specialising in stained glass. For over 25 years since then Helen has been creating new stained glass to commission and overseeing restoration painting for a wide variety of stained glass conservation projects, latterly as the creative director of the highly acclaimed Barley Studio in York, heading the multi-skilled team alongside founder Keith Barley MBE FMGP.
Helen’s aim is to engage the viewer through good design and craftsmanship, creating energy and movement intertwining contemporary and traditional elements. Her designs are inspired by the client, the brief and the building, whether housed in historic or modern buildings, in ecclesiastical or secular contexts.
Helen Whittaker was awarded an MBE for “services to the creation and conservation of stained and architectural glass art” in the King’s Birthday Honours in 2024.
Source: Barley Studio website
Barley Studio was established by Keith Barley MBE FMGP in 1973, and has an international reputation for excellence in stained glass creation and conservation for cathedrals, stately homes, parish churches and prestigious secular buildings across the UK and beyond.
Source: Barley Studio website
Other comments
Worksop Priory was an Augustinian foundation, probably of 1103, of which the church, Lady Chapel and the gatehouse are almost the only survivals. Other glass includes a very fine east window of 1974-5 by John Hayward, part of a scheme for the rebuilding of the lost east end of the church by Laurence King in 1970-4.