Stained Glass Essays

The Greville Window by Kempe in St Peter's, Binton, Warwickshire.

Posted 17 December 2024

At first glance this appears to be a fairly regular Kempe Studios window, well executed and with many of the instantly recognisable hallmarks of that firm. It was by John Lisle who also designed the Scott Memorial window in the west wall of the nave.The Robert Falcon Scott memorial window in the west end of the church.¹ The Greville window was installed in 1913 but has no dedication.² What makes this window more arresting than the usual Kempe offerings are the two donor figures kneeling in prayer, representing Sir John and Lady Joan (or Johanna) Greville of Milcote near Weston on Avon, Warwickshire. What is significant is that the figures appear to be near copies of a window which was recorded by Dugdale (and others) as being in the "east window of the chancell" in the middle of the 17th century.³ What is not clear is whether the Kempe artists drew solely upon the sketch in Dugdale's "Antiquities" or whether they were able to view the original window and create their own drawings before the old church was demolished in 1874/75. With such an elapsed time from the building of the new church by Frederick Preedy in 1875 and the installation of the new window, it would appear somewhat unlikely that a commission of this type would take so long to execute, even if considerable forethought in the planning of the work would have been required. The medieval glass was certainly in situ in the medieval church in 1873 according to a correspondent to "Notes and Queries" in March 1913. Known only by the initials A. M. they write of the medieval window with the kneeling figures as follows:

Unfortunately the correspondent does not state from where the shield was recovered, or by whom, but there is a distinct possibility (though by no means is this certain) that the shield in the new Kempe window is the medieval glass restored and reset. The medieval window was clearly in situ just prior to the demolition of the medieval church, but apart from the shield mentioned by A. M. the whereabouts of the rest of the glass is a mystery. It is, however, quite plausible that as part of the planning for the new church, a scheme had been hatched to include the images of Sir John and Lady Greville. Quite why it took so long to execute is likewise a mystery, but clearly plans were well advanced at the time as the Kempe window was installed in 1913.

The sketch in Dugdales "Antiquities of Warwickshire" (left) shows a kneeling couple representing Sir John Greville of Milcote (d. 1481) and Johanna (or Joan) his wife.⁵ To the right are names, 1. Grivell, and 2. Williamscote. Sir John is dressed in armour and a surcoat bearing his coats of arms, sable, a cross engrailed or with an engrailed border of the second, a mullet of the second in the 1st quarter which appears in the central light of the Kempe window. The scroll above Sir John reads, "Jhu fili dei miserere mei" and over his wife's. "Intercede pro me Johanna Xro care". The last two words are somewhat indistinct and gave rise to an exchange of correspondence in Notes and Queries of January 1913 cuttings from which were on a display board in the nave. Johanna is also wearing an armorial surcoat under a full cloak or kirtle, and a headress typical of the everyday attire of the 15th century, though the Kempe window depicts her with a much more flamboyant affair. Under the kneeling pair is what appears to be a dedication, possibly transcribed from the medieval window, which mentions John Salmon, "once the rector of the church". The inscription in Latin below the sketch reads:

On the next page we discuss the mystery surrounding the original window of the medieval church.

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References: Use your browser's Back button to return to text.

1. Barlow, A. Kempe, The Life, Art and Legacy of Charles Eamer Kempe. p293. Lutterworth Press 2018.
2. Collins, P. N. H. (Ed); Corpus of Kempe, 2000, p334.
3. Dugdale, William Sir, The Antiquities of Warwickshire, 1656, p535.
4. Notes and Queries, 11th Series, Volume VII, January -June 1913: Mar 8 1913; p192. See also pages; 8, 49, 75 & 93.
5. Dugdate, W. Antiquities of Warwickshire, 1656, p536.