Historic Churches 2022

26 BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 29TH ANNUAL EDITION with him on at least three commissions, and that the two considered setting up in partnership together. Many of these artists had a highly romanticised view of the Middle Ages that was shared with the Pre-Raphaelites, and Louis Davis in particular was associated with the art movement. Its influence can be seen in much of Whall’s and Parsons’ work too. Much of Parsons’ later work has a greater density of colour, such as The Good Samaritan , a two-light window in Pyle, Glamorgan made in 1930 (illustrated above). It has been suggested that this stylistic change was a response to his visit to the Cathedral at Chartes in 1924, where he and his brother made a study of the medieval stained glass. The visit certainly had a profound effect on him, and many of his later pieces do contain fewer ‘white’ areas of clear glass. In 1929 Parsons gave up his teaching post and moved to Shalbourne, Wiltshire to focus on designing stained glass. However, ill health forced him to return to London in 1933 and he died in 1934 at the age of 50. The work of Arts & Crafts artists like Parsons can be found in churches throughout Britain and Ireland. Most are unlocked during the day and are readily accessible for everyone to enjoy. Photos of many of the finest examples can be found on Flickr, and this is an excellent resource for planning a visit. Because windows are part of the fabric of a building, serving to keep out the wind and the rain, their importance as works of art is sometimes overlooked. They are irreplaceable, and their maintenance, repair and protection are of the utmost importance. These churches need to remain open and cared for, one way or another. Recommended reading Peter Cormack, Arts & Crafts Stained Glass , Yale University Press, London 2015 The Journal of Stained Glass Vol XLI, ‘The Glass House Special Edition’, BSMGP, London 2017 Nicola Gordon Bowe, ‘Tower of Glass: An Túr Gloine and the Early 20th Century Stained Glass Revival in Ireland’, Historic Churches , Cathedral Communications, Tisbury 2008 buildingconservation.com/articles/ articles.htm#stainedglass en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ works_by_Karl_Parsons JONATHAN TAYLOR is Editor of Historic Churches . Detail of a window by Karl Parsons in St Peter’s, Bardon Hill, Leicestershire made in 1930. Despite the increasing recognition for stained glass as works of great art, it is still common to find wire grilles have been used to protect the glass, disfiguring the light patches. (Photo: Andrew Loutit) Details of The Good Samaritan, a two-light window in Pyle, Glamorgan made in 1930 (Photo: Jonathan Taylor) provide pattern, movement or sparkle, depending on the object or subject. For Parsons the Glass House was more than just studio space. It was a hub for a community of like-minded artists, and for the exchange of ideas. Many leading figures in the Arts & Crafts movement used Lowndes and Drury’s services for firing, leading and installing their windows, as documented in Volume XLI of The Journal of Stained Glass . Others rented studio space alongside Parsons, including former Whall students Caroline Townshend and Hugh Arnold, Birmingham School of Art student Margaret Agnes Rope, and the Irish artists Wilhemena Geddes and Harry Clarke. Louis Davis, another of Whall’s students also worked for the Glass House and Peter Cormack notes that Parsons worked