Christ with Sword - a photo on Flickriver

Christ with Sword

            Detail of the south east apse window.

The apse windows by Chance Brothers of Birmingham, 1851, parts of which were shown at the Great Exhibition in the Crystal Palace prior to their installation here. Perhaps as a result of this the windows were originally installed with an outer layer of plain quarry glazing (effectively double-glazed), which was most likely installed first to keep the weather out while awaiting the stained glass. Alas this had the effect of making the windows significantly darker as dirt collected on all four surfaces over the years (which being so tall and high up were impossible for cleaners to reach).

The windows were restored in stages from the mid 1990s onwards by Norgrove Studios, beginning with a piecemeal light-by-light approach to the south east window which dramatically transformed it for the better (especially noticeable while there were still unrestored sections vividly showing the contrast). It was during this process that I joined the team and was involved on all three windows.

The glass was especially dirty on the inside so cleaning made a huge difference, but also removing the outer layer of degraded plain glazing when reinstalling the stained glass further enhanced the difference and meant for the first time the windows could be viewed as originally intended, without an obscuring secondary layer outside. Following the success of the first window the next two were each restored in a single campaign, removing all the glass at once but leaving the plain glazing in (which saved boarding up!) until work was complete. 

It was a privilege to be involved in this major project (despite a few vertigo inducing moments high on the scaffold!) and a huge transformation, remembering how dingy and obscured by dirt the windows were before. Now the colours sing again as they were designed to do.

All Saints is Leamington Spa's cathedral-like main church, begun in 1843 over the site of a much more modest building. The bulk of the church was completed in the following years by J.C.Jackson, though the west end of the nave and the soaring south west tower were added in 1898-1902 by Sir Arthur Blomfield. It seems a crossing tower was originally intended  but only the stump was built, owing to insufficient foundations or funds. Nevertheless a small clock tower with a spire was added off the north transept giving the church a distinctive outline.

The apse and transepts are largely French Gothic in style (an odd choice for a Regency town) with elaborately traceried rose windows based on authentic examples in Rouen (alas without stained glass). The apse windows are amongst the tallest of their kind in an English parish church.

The interior is hugely spacious (if a little gloomy) and can not fail to impress with its cathedral-like ambition and grandeur. The eye is drawn down the nave towards the apse with its three tapering windows while the crossing encloses yet more space in the form of a generous transept with its enormous clear-glazed rose windows and chapels on the east side (an imposing memorial chapel on the south side, and a much more intimate Lady Chapel beneath the organ to the north). The west end of the nave was partitioned off around 1990 in order to form parish rooms with a gallery above.

The church has much glass of the Victorian period, the rich apse windows of 1851 being the work of Chance Bros of Birmingham  and in part shown at the great exhibition. They were much improved by restoration in the late 1990s (a project over several years in which I was involved).

All Saints is normally open during the day most days of the week (except Monday) with a small cafe operating at the west end.

Taken in: UK / England / Warwick District / Leamington Spa (show map)

Taken on: March 6, 2024

Tags:

Leamington Spa

church

Victorian

stained glass

window

Chance Bros « less

Sets appears in: • Leamington Spa - All Saints • Victorian & Edwardian Stained glass more » • Leamington Spa Churches « less

Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ70, f/6.1, 1/13 sec, 96.2mm, ISO 80 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Panasonic DMC-TZ70
Aperture:	f/6.1
Exposure Time:	0.077 sec (1/13)
Focal Length:	96.2mm
ISO:	80
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
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Software:	Microsoft Windows Photo Viewer 6.1.7600.16385
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