Abington Avenue United Reformed Church Abington Avenue, Northampton, NN1 4QA

logowash

The Stained Glass Window

During the First World War several of the young men of the church were killed. One of soldiers who had been killed at Passchendaele was Harold Fitness. His father, Frederick Fitness was a deacon of the church.

Frederick Fitness was the tailor for Frank Brangwyn. He was also a part time antiques dealer who apparently helped to find items for Brangwyn’s house, the Jointure, in Sussex. Mr Fitness suggested that a stained glass window would be a fitting tribute to those who has lost their lives in the Great War.

In 1920 Frank Brangwyn was a full member of the Royal Academy and was already a well respected artist. His works were on display in Britain, Europe, Canada and America. Amongst his works was a stained glass window for St Mary’s Church, Bucklebury in Berkshire.

Before deciding whether to commission the window, a group of people had an outing to Bucklebury to see the window there. The decision making group included the fathers of some of the young men who had lost their lives. Following this visit to Bucklebury, Brangwyn was invited to design the window based on the subject ‘The Descent from the Cross’.

staing3

Insert body text here ...

Initially Brangwyn employed the glass painter Silvester Sparrow but apparently they had a series of misunderstandings, originating with the Bucklebury commision where the artist altered the design after Sparrow had cut the glass. Sparrow then became irritated when Brangwyn was slow in producing the design for Abington Avenue. So Brangwyn eventually employed Paul Turpin, a French émigré from Lille, to paint the window. Brangwyn had hoped that the window would be ready in time to be on exhibition at the Paris Salon, of which he is an honorary member. But he was greatly disappointed that it was not ready on time and therefore the window was erected in the church in January 1921.

The window stands 24 feet high and 10 feet wide. A feature of Brangwyn’s work is the use of bold and forceful colours and these are evident in this window. It is interesting to note that a later work, the British Empire Panels, that were commissioned for the Houses of Parliament were never displayed there because they were thought to be too bold and colourful. Instead they are housed in Swansea Guildhall.

Those who have studied Brangwyn’s works in detail have identified that several of the features of our window also appear in his other works. The skull of Adam appears in the sketch for the 11th Station of the Cross in Arras Cathedral, yellow tulips in the foreground of the St Aidens’s murals in Leeds and the whole design is similar to the window at Bucklebury

At first sight the window can appear to be a picture of death but if studied carefully and prayerfully it can be seen that by the use of bright colours, flowers, stars and child angels, LIFE and HOPE can speak to all of us know as it did to the relatives of the young men so many years ago.’