Stained Glass of Percy Bacon & Brothers

St Mary's, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

St Mary's from the southwest

Posted 09 May 2022.

The author of a review of an account of the history of St Mary's by Samuel Tymms FSA, published in the Archeological Journal of March 1854 asks the rhetorical question as to the very existence of Bury St Edmunds;

Perhaps it was this apparent remoteness and lack of "local advantage" that led Sigebert, the first Christian King of East Anglia to found a monastery here in 638. At the time the Saxon name for the town was Bedericsworthe, variously interpreted as meaning, "King's Town", and indeed Sigebert donned the habit with the intention of spending the remainder of his life in holy orders. This did not go to plan. Sigebert yet again had to take up arms and was killed leading his army against the acquisitive King Penda of Mercia. With the acquisition of the relics of St Edmund, King and Martyr in the early 10th century and the resulting influx of pilgrims, the growth in the wealth and power of the monastery, and that of the town were secured. By the 12th century Bury St Edmunds had a population of around 4,000, a sizeable town for the time.

The early church somewhat removed from the current site, was built just before the foundation of the abbey. This was superseded by a new church completed in 1032 of, "more suitable dignity" to house the relics of St Edmund. Even this was thought unworthy, probably because it was constructed in wood and a new, "more stately structure" of hewn stone was completed on the present site of St Mary's in 1095 having taken twelve years to build. This was paid for by the extraordinary revenues being received by the monastery from pilgrims who flocked to pay homage to the martyred saint. The present church was completed in around 1433 and is a splendid example of the Perpendicular style of architecture. The layout which followed that of the Norman church is a little unconventional for the time, with the tower offset to the north west. This may have been due to the existing road layout resisting the westward thrust of the building. However, this layout pleasingly allows for an unimpeded view of both the east and grand west windows, the latter said to be the largest in any parish church in England, and the entry to the church via the west door. This door is rather modest and on entering does not prepare one for the magnificence of the vast space beyond. Tymms describes it thus;

The floor plan of the church is larger than five cathedrals in England. The church is well endowed with stained glass from a variety of workshops and artists and it is advisable to set aside plenty of time to be able to fully enjoy it.

The East Window by Percy Bacon & Brothers with later insertions by Powells.
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East window by Percy Bacon & Brothers, 1914

East window by Percy Bacon & Brothers, 1914.

East window by Percy Bacon & Brothers, 1914.

East window by Percy Bacon & Brothers, 1914.

East window by Percy Bacon & Brothers, 1914.

East window by Percy Bacon & Brothers, 1914. Tracery

East window by Percy Bacon & Brothers, 1914 with central insertions by Powells of 1964. The Monograms of E W Lake and Mrs Blanche Lake appear in shields in the outer lights

Posted 09 May 2022. Updated 11 Nov 2022.

The east window is a strange mix of Percy Bacon & Brothers and Powell's work, the latter filling the lower panels of the two centre lights. To understand why the window was not fully filled by Percy Bacon one only needs to review some photographs taken in the 19th century and around the time of its installation in 1914, along with a few reports in the local newspapers of the time. In front of the window in that year, and obscuring a large part of it was what can only be described as a grotesque gothic reredos

A rare coloured postcard undated but probably circa 1910 before the Bacon glass was installed. The very large reredos were thought, 'a mistake' and were partially removed in 1933, and then fully dismantled in 1962. Note the glass in the east window appears to be plain, the William Wailes glass having been removed in preparation for the new window. The fate of the Wailes glass is unknown.

PD image from postcard in the author's collection.

on a rather inappropriate scale. This reredos, installed in 1910 even obscured the more restrained one installed in 1847

Postcard undated but thought to be circa 1860 showing the original restrained reredos installed in 1847 by the late Miss Eliza Harrison. The photo also shows the earlier William Wailes window of 1847. This was likely removed shortly before the Bacon window was installed.

PD image from postcard in the author's collection.

which was painted with Old Testament figures and a Last Supper scene in 1887³ to celebrate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria.⁴ Percy Bacon is reported to have provided the designs for the colour work for the new reredos⁵. Another photograph

Taken between 1910 and 1914 this photo shows the large reredos with the Wailes Glass still in situ.

PD image in the author's collection.

which must have been taken between 1910 and 1914 shows the Wailes glass still in situ behind the large reredos. On 14th October 1913 a special vestry meeting was held to discuss applying for a Faculty to replace the east window.⁶ The meeting, comprehensively reported in the local press, showed that Mr Lake, the donor of the reredos, had made an offer to replace the east window, much of which had been savagely obscured by it. Mr Lake, who was once a churchwarden at St Mary's attended that meeting and explained (perhaps by way of deflecting any criticism which may justifiably have been levelled at him for having designed such a large reredos) that his original proposal was for an unimposing reredos which only extended as far as the base of the window. His fellow churchwarden had suggested getting "expert" advice and commissioned the help of Temple Lushington Moore, the London architect. Mr Lake went on to report that Moore had said the modest reredos was a mistake, and that they were sacrificing a reredos worthy of such a large church for the sake of preserving, "very bad glass", in a window, "not worth saving" (i.e. the Wailes glass). So the reredos were made higher, with a view as Mr Lake put it, "[knowing} part of the scheme had been that some day there should be a suitable window put in". Unfortunately for Mr Lake the final scheme for just the reredos cost him double the estimated amount for his original design, and as a result (and presumably for lack of funds, or the willingness to spend even more) the old window was left in place. The question of whether to replace the window was not straightforward. Being a memorial window, some thought it must rightly remain in perpetuity. Others were asking that because the dedicatees family were no longer in the town or parish, whether memorial windows should, in practice, be perpetual. Mr Lake concluded his address to the vestry meeting by placing the burden of deciding the course of action squarely in the laps of the committee, asking them to understand that, before taking action, the window was not his scheme; he was merely offering to complete it.

It had been known for some years that the William Wailes glass was in a parlous state. Five years before the vestry meeting where Mr Lake had made his excuses, and prior to the installation of the new reredos, an inspection had revealed a good deal of cracking. It was concluded that if the glass was not taken out and renewed, it would likely blow out with the first high wind, so temporary repairs were made. The Wailes glass had been a memorial to members of the Blomfield, Conran and Smith families. Mr Lake had reached out to the Blomfields (relations of Arthur Blomfield, the renowned London architect) and the Smiths and Conrans, asking their permissions to remove the window. This was duly given by the Blomfields with the proviso that the new window reference the dedications in the original. This was duly incorporated into the Percy Bacon design, which had for some time prior to the window's installation been hanging in the church on public display. It was proposed that the panels behind the new reredos would be kept plain.

Despite the plan having been formulated by late 1913 and Percy Bacon & Brothers commissioned to complete the work, it was not until 1933 that it was recognised that the scale of the reredos was overdone and the top section was removed, Even that did not entirely satisfy the then committee. The Bury Free Press reported:⁷

Clearly there was much ringing of hands about this suggestion to alter the reredos yet again, and it was not until 1962 that the rest was finally removed, and the original panelling whitewashed.⁸

Of the window, Bacon completed the outer two lights to the base, but even these would have been partly obscured by the giant reredos. A postcard from the 1960s shows the reredos having finally been removed. Powells installed the additional glass to the central lights in 1964, though clearly no attempt was made to harmonise the new glass with the old, resulting in a rather incongruous amalgam.

The Bacon Studios window was dedicated on 2nd May 1914,⁹ and represents the four archangels, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael and Michael. Each of the archangels carries his emblems; Lilies for Gabriel, while Uriel holds a sword in his right hand and the "flame of God" in his left. Raphael, the guide of Tobias (Tobit V) holds a crossed staff, the cross heavily jewelled, and a fish on a hook to represent the fish which saved Tobias and his father, and Michael holds scales of justice and the spear which defeated Satan. Subsidiary symbols have been introduced beside each of the figures; that of St Mary the Virgin in the Gabriel light, being a winged pierced heart, and for Uriel a book. Raphael's shield bears an image of a smoking censer (a reference to Tobias slaying the demon with the smoke from the burning fish entrails), and Michael stands next to the shield of St Edmunds.

The original dedicatees in the William Wailes windows are remembered in the lower panels of the outer lights in accordance with the families' wishes:

The names of those individuals remembered from the Wailes glass are inscribed on ribbons which spiral up a vine on top of which a demi-angel holds a scroll with the name of the archangel above. In the tracery angels play musical instruments and sing, the words of the song inscribed on a scroll (in Latin), "Holy Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts, Heaven and earth are full Thy glory", from the preface to the Communion Service. The music is an exact reproduction from Antiphonarium Missarum, Secundum usurn Sarisburiensis—a 14th Century manuscript, once in the collection of the great liturgiologist Maskell, now in the British Museum, No. 171001.¹⁰

The whereabouts of the William Wailes glass is unknown, but given its reported poor state it is most likely to have been disposed of or recycled.¹¹

Although installed in 1914, the design was already complete at the time of the installation of the reredos in 1910, as was reported in a newspaper article of 24th January of that year.¹² Percy Bacon was at work in St Mary's as early as 1909 having been consulted to advise on the question of "colour and light" at the request of the architects involved in the alterations. He proposed that the dark glass in the north and south sanctuary be removed and substituted with cathedral glass.¹³

The window is unsigned.

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1. The Archeological Journal, Vol XI, March 1854, p303.
2. Tymms, Samuel; An Architectural and Historical Account of the Church of St. Mary, Bury St. Edmund's, 1854. Available at Google Books. When Tymms wrote his monogram the window was filled with plain glass.
3. Bury and Norwich Post, Tuesday 10 March 1891, p3.
4. Bury & Norwich Post, Tuesday 01 March 1887, p4.
5. East Anglian Daily Times - Monday 24 January 1910, p7.
6. Reported in the Bury Free Press - Saturday 18 October 1913, p8.
7. Bury Free Press, Saturday 8th July 1933.
8. Bury Free Press, Friday 4th May 1962, p17.
9. Report in The Bury Free Press, Saturday 6th May 1939, p7, entitled, "25 Years Ago".
10. Bury Free Press Saturday 2nd May 1914
11. Tymms, Samuel; An Architectural and Historical Account of the Church of St. Mary, Bury St. Edmund's, 1854. The Wailes window is described in intricate detail by Tymms.
12. East Anglian Daily Times - Monday 24 January 1910, p7. This article reports the dedication ceremony for the new reredos on 23rd January 1910, but also described the design for the new east window.
13. Evening Star, Saturday 13 March 1909, p3