Stained Glass of Percy Bacon & Brothers

East wall decoration circa 1900.

Stencilled IHS monograms surmounted with golden crowns.

Wall Painting circa 1900

Posted 27 November 2024.

In October of 2022 when I visited St Mary's Church in this retiring backwater of Hertfordshire , the church was in a rather sorry state. The altar had been covered in plastic sheeting, and the east wall, still with Percy Bacon's decoration, was clearly in need of attention. This state of seeming dereliction was compounded by a brooding overcast sky making the interior of the church dark and sombre, and photography challenging.

Having already completed large schemes of church decoration at St Mary's, Ardleigh, and St Andrew's, Halstead, this would have been a rather minor commission for Percy Bacon. Only the east wall and the arch of the east window was painted, and this in simple monochrome with black IHS monograms surmounted by a gold crown stencilled in regular intervals without variation. Around the chancel window there is an attempt at trompe l'oeil stonework which fails to convince. The window splay is again decorated with simple, linear bands of stencilled fretwork.

This can hardly do justice to the standard that Percy Bacon had set himself. The work looks altogether a little rushed and uninspiring. It is recorded here for the sake of completeness.

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1. The Home Counties Magazine, Hardy, W. J. (Ed), Vol III, 1901.