Stained Glass of Percy Bacon & Brothers

North Aisle East: Parable of; the Prodigal Son, The Lost Silver, Good Samaritan.

St Justus as Archbishop of Canterbury.

St Alban.

St Erconwald, Bishop of London.

Tower West. 1893: St Justus, St Alban, and St Erconwald.

Posted 03 September 2023.

This three light window with simple tracery, high up in the west wall of the tower depicts three standing figures of East Anglian Saints; St Justus as Archbishop of Canterbury, St Alban, first English Martyr, and St Erconwald as Bishop of London. In the tracery are representations of St Paul and St Peter.

In 1893 St Clement's was undergoing considerable modification with decoration of the chancel walls, reredos, and west windows being executed as a memorial to Canon Walker King, rector of St Clement's between 1859 and 1892. Canon King was related to Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln 1885-1910. The decorative work was designed by the Rev Ernest Geldart,¹ and although Percy Bacon is known to have had a close collaborative relationship with him, it was reported ² that Bacon had been approached directly by the church committee overseeing the fundraising for the works, so it is possible that this was not such a collaboration. Following Geldart's marriage on 7th November 1893, he stopped working with Cox Sons, Buckley & Co. and instead engaged Percy Bacon¹ to execute a great many of his designs. Bettley¹ is somewhat non-committal in suggesting that Percy Bacon and Brothers "probably" executed the east window at Great Braxted, Essex, in April 1893 (i.e. before the window in Leigh on Sea), so there is the tantalising possibility that this window was Geldart's first view of Bacon's glass work, and where their long relationship started. Whatever the truth of the matter, Geldart continued to engage Bacon on his projects in Essex and Suffolk, with the occasional commission elsewhere, until his retirement to Surrey in 1900/01.

The window is classic early Bacon, the figures finely painted, within their own elaborate architectonic niche of white glass and yellow stain which soar to the apex of each light. The article in the Southend Standard suggested that the head of Erconwald had been copied from a "celebrated head" of Albrecht Dürer

Comparison of a painting by Albreacht Dürer and St Erconwald painted by Percy Bacon:

Left: Albrecht Dürer, Portrait of a Clergyman (Johann Dorsch?), 1516. PD Image.

Rights: The head of St Erconwald by Percy Bacon, St Clement's Church, Leigh on Sea, Essex, tower west window. and his crozier from Martin Schongauer

Comparison of an engrazing of a crozier by Martin Schongauer (1450/53 - 1491) and that painted by Percy Bacon and held by St Erconwald:

Left: Martin Schongauer; "The Crozier". Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. PD Image.

Rights: The crozier held by St Erconwald by Percy Bacon, St Clement's Church, Leigh on Sea, Essex, tower west window.; that of Justus from a Titian, and that of Alban from Crevelli.³

At the base of the lights are armorial shields relating to each figure:

Above the figures of Justus and Erconwald angels hold amorial shields emblazoned with the arms of Canon King and his widow respectively.⁴

The dedication across the base of the window reads:

The window was erected by subscriptions among parishioners and friends, and was dedicated on the 20th June 1893. It is unsigned.⁵

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1. The Transactions of the Essex Archeological Society, Vol 31 (3rd Series) 2000, pp169-194. Bettley, James. "The Master of Little Braxted in his Prime".
2. Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser - Thursday 06 July 1893 p3.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. The Builder Vol 65 08 July 1893, p34.