Stained Glass of Percy Limited

Over the course of more than three decades the Percy Bacon Studio would execute nearly sixty windows in the Bournemouth area, the first in 1896, a magnificent window in the south transept at St Peter's. The firm would be responsible for an entire scheme at St John's, Boscombe, and St Andrew's, Boscombe, as well as installing other windows at St Clement's, St Alban's and here at All Saints, Southbourne. At St Christopher's, Southbourne, Percy Bacon donated a window to the church in 1934 shortly before his death in January 1935.¹ It is quite possible that Percy Bacon was introduced to the area by his uncle, Walter J. Bacon, who owned an ironmongery business in nearby Poole, and was Justice of the Peace in the town. Dating the execution of some of the windows in All Saints has proved a little tricky, as the dedications are dated close to, or after, the firm was wound up in 1933. As an example, the south aisle west window was reported as being dedicated in December 1934 (i.e. after the firm had closed) but that it had been, "Left to All Saints by Nurse Burgess".² It is possible that the dedications were inscribed after the event as donors came forward. What is clear is that the windows present a whole scheme which may have been designed from the outset.

All the photos in this entry have been kindly provided under a creative commons license (CC BY-NC-ND-2.0) by Alwyn Ladell whose photostream can be found on Flickr.

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

Southbourne All Saints East Window.
Use mouse wheel to zoom and click/drag to explore the window.
All photos ©Alwyn Ladell via Flickr. CC BY-NC-ND-2.0 license.

East Window; 1921. War Memorial. All photos © Alwyn Ladell via Flickr. CC BY-NC-ND-2.0 license.

East Window: 1921. Christ in Majesty.

East Window: 1921. St Michael.

East Window: 1921. Various saints.

Posted 12 June 2026.

The splendid east window is classic Percy Bacon work, filled with representations of saints, prophets, saintly Kings and Bishops, and angels. In all, and excluding the central figure of Christ in Majesty, the tracery lights and the minor angels there are fifty figures, some densely packed into the narrow lights. The colouring is vibrant, with every part of the window filled with interest.

In the centre light is the figure of Christ in Majesty, as King of Kings. Above him and at his feet are cherubim and angels playing musical instruments, and lower down St Michael dressed in medieval armour slaying the dragon. Other lights depict (left to right):

1. Ss Denis, Joseph, Patrick, Abraham, with Solomon, Moses, Aaron above. St Denis holds his head on a platter.
2. Ss Ambrose, Cyril, and archangel Uriel.
3. Ss Peter, Paul, Stephen, Ethelburga, Augustine, Columba, Oswald, Clement, David, with Jeremiah and Isaiah, and the Blessed Virgin Mary and St John.
4. Christ in Magesty. St Michael slaying the dragon.
5. Ss Philip, Andrew, James, Agnes, Margaret, Cuthburt, Chad, Gregory, Jerome, Alban, with Ezekiel, Daniel, St Mary Magdalene and St John the Baptist.
6. King Richard I, St Valdimar (crusader). Archangel Gabriel.
7. Ss George, Methodius, with Joshua, Hezekiah, Gideon, King David, and Elijah.

In the tracery: The angel of Victory, and beneath, angels holding scrolls; "Heaven and Earth are full of Thy Glory".

The window is a memorial to the men of the parish who were killed in the Great War, and was dedicated on 2^nd October 1921, and was reported to have cost £1,650 to install.³ It was conceived of as early as March 1919 when a fund was inaugurated to provide a fitting war memorial, and that it should take the form of stained glass in the east window.⁴

The church holds the original watercolour design which was presented to the church by Percy Bacon's wife, Clara, in 1936 as a memorial to him. The original watercolour design for the window is displayed in the church. It was presented to the church as a memorial to Percy Bacon by his wife, Clara in 1936.
Photo by Alwyn Ladell. Flickr. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.Percy Bacon would return to this theme in later years for war memorial windows at St Peter's, Caversham, and St Barnabas, Emmer Green, both in Berkshire.

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1. Bournemouth Times and Directory - Friday 07 September 1934, p3.
2. Swanage Times & Directory - Saturday 08 October 1921, p3.
3. Swanage and Wareham Guardian - Saturday 22 March 1919, p3.