Stained Glass of Percy Bacon & Brothers

South Chancel 2: Jesus and the Centurion of Capernaum, and Joshua t the Gates of Jerico.

Jesus and the Centurion of Capernaum.

Jesus and the Centurion of Capernaum.

Joshua at the Gates of Jericho.

Joshua at the Gates of Jericho.

Tracery Lights: The arms of Curzon-Howe and 2nd Life Guards.

Tracery Lights: The arms of Curzon-Howe and Grenadier Guards.

Joshua at the Battle of Jericho: Comparison of the von Carolsfeld engraving and the Bacon light.

SC2: The Good Centurion & Joshua at the
Gates of Jericho

Posted 27 July 2023.

No definitive evidence has yet been found to confirm that this window is from the studios of Percy Bacon and Brothers, but the attribution by Paul Sharpling is fairly safe.¹ The Jericho light is essentially a copy of a Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld drawing, from his book "Die Bibel in Bildern", published in German between 1852 and 1860.² Percy Bacon also copied a von Carolsfeld drawing for the east window at Ecton, Northampronshire. This provides further evidence that the window is indeed from the Bacon Studios.

The window is of two lights and represents, in the left light, Jesus with the Centurion of Capernaum, and in the right, Joshua at the Gates of Jericho.

The window is dedicated to General Richard William Penn Curzon-Howe, 3rd Earl Howe (d. September 1910).

In the tracery along with the arms of Curzon-Howe, are those of the 2nd Life Guards and Grenadier Guards with whom the 3rd Earl Howe served.

The window appears to allude to Curzon-Howe's faith and, in depicting Joshua's siege of Jerico reflects his service at the Siege of Delhi during the Indian Rebellion in 1857.

The window is unsigned.

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1. Sharpling, Paul; Gazetteer of the Stained Glass in Leicestershire Churches. The location given by Sharpling is incorrect.
2. von Carolsfeld, Julius Schnorr. Die Bibel in Bildern, 240 Darstellungen, erfunden und auf Holz gezeichnet, 1860, Ill. 106. The original was published in German in 30 parts between 1852 and 1860, with an English version appearing in 1861 under the title "The Bible in Pictures or Scripture History" (Wikipedia). Copy available at Google Books.