Summary. Flemish, hand-painted glass from Herkenrode Abbey, Belgium, was bought by the cathedral in 1802. The glass has been described as “perhaps the finest specimens of pictorial glass-painting in the world”.
Central east
window in the Lady Chapel.
Early in the
16th-century, three successive abbesses commissioned glass work. The artists
are unknown, but the names of Marten Tymus, Pieter van Venedigan and Peter
Coeke are possibilities,[6]
and the dates for the Lichfield glass are 1532–1539.[7] See
the post ‘Lady Chapel and Saint Chapelle’ to know what was already in the
windows. In 1802, eleven cases with 332 squares of glass, each 572 mm square
(22½ inches), were shipped
across the sea via Rotterdam and Hull and along canals. It was laid out on the
nave floor for establishing the best order of installation and placed in the
mullions in 1803. John Betton of Shrewsbury supervised the work.[8] It
is now thought there is more original 16th-century Flemish glass in Lichfield
than is in Belgium today.
324 panes were placed in the
seven-most eastern windows (bays 2 to 8) and 8 panes were added to windows
elsewhere in the cathedral. In bays 2 and 3, on the north side, the glass shows
the donors, aristocrats, knights and a cardinal, that gave the glass to
Herkenrode. Bays 1 and 9 contain darker glass, which is also Flemish and
16th-century, thought to have come from Antwerp, and was installed in 1895.[9]
There is added glass by Charles Kempe of London.
Panel showing Ascension of Christ.
During the 1880s much work was undertaken restoring the stonework and ironwork in the windows. All the Herkenrode panes were removed and re-fitted to new stone mullions. By now the painted glass was suffering from wear, damp and shoddy repair and because it is thin (2–3 mm) had become fragile in places. The bottom panel of the middle window was added by Burlison and Grylls and shows the three Marys painted in the same style as the Herkenrode. It replaced plain glass behind an altar that had been removed.
During the
Second War the glass panes were taken down and stored in a vault on the south
side of the Cathedral. Between 2009–15, the panes, over 600 small panels, were taken
down again and conserved in the Barley Studio in York.[10] They
were cleaned and retouched including painting of missing areas on the reverse
side of the glass using a cold, unfired, paint mixed from traditional glass
pigment and gold size. This meant the restored painting could be removed at a
later time, if necessary. There was also the re-use of original Herkenrode
glass to replace missing bits.[11] Whilst
away in York, clear isothermal glass was added to the mullions. The returned
panels were placed in manganese bronze frames in 2014 and now attached to the
inside of the plain glass with a gap to give internal ventilation.
Lady Chapel
with plain glass before return of the conserved Herkenrode
The main
windows follow the life of Christ, but not in an expected order. There is the
entry into Jerusalem, Last Supper, betrayal at Gethsemane, carrying the Cross, Pentecost,
doubting Thomas and the Last Judgement. Also, the Annunciation. The scourging
and mockery of Christ appear in one window, whilst Pilate washing his hands is
in another. The centre piece is the meal at Emmaus and above is the Ascension of
Christ leaving through a cloud. It is unknown what order they had at
Herkenrode. A striking omission is the image of crucifixion and this might have
not been part of the purchase agreement. Christ is also depicted in purple costume,
not white, in recognition of his kingship. The glass
has been described as “perhaps the finest specimens of pictorial glass-painting
in the world”.[12] A
definitive study of Herkenrode glass has recently been published.[13]
Panels showing the Last Supper
[1]
The notion the nuns fled the abbey because of the threat of the guillotine is
wrong.
[2]
T. Harwood, The history and antiquities of
the church and city of Lichfield. (London:
1806), 113.
[3]
There is a narrative that Brooke Boothby was wealthy and on a European tour
with time to spare. There is the view that Brooke Boothby saw the purchase of the glass as
a way of memorialising his daughter, Penelope, who died in 1791 aged five
years. It has been suggested the loss of his daughter much affected him. There
is anecdotal evidence he had cheated his family and fled to France to avoid
those he had cheated. His move from Ashbourne Hall to a prebendal house in the
Close indicates his fortune had been dissipated. He collected artwork using his
wife’s dowry. In which case his purchase of the glass might have been an
opportunity to redeem himself. It is uncertain what Boothby paid for the glass,
but £112 and £160 have been mentioned. The account of the purchase has become
almost as important as the saving of the windows. The total expense of
purchasing, importing, arranging, and repairing this glass, and of fitting the
windows to receive it, may have cost about one thousand pounds, John C.
Woodhouse A short account of Lichfield
Cathedral. (Lichfield: 1811), 9.
[4]
It is unknown what glass was originally present in the lancet windows of the
early 14th-century Lady Chapel. With the restoration of the Lady Chapel after
the Civil War, there was glass showing the resurrection by Benjamin West and
glass showing armorial entitlement.
[5]
There is an alternative story recorded by G. Cobb, English cathedrals: the
forgotten centuries. Restoration and change from 1530 to the present day. (London:
1981). A ship carrying the glass was captured on its way to a cathedral in
South America. Brooke Boothby tipped off the cathedral it was lying in a dock
and was available for a very small sum. The acquisition of the glass is murky.
[6]
Marks of workers on the glass panes have been found.
[7]
C. Winston, ‘Remarks on the painted glass at Lichfield Cathedral’, The Archaeological
Journal. (1864), 21, 193.
[8]
Herkenrode glass also appeared in Ashstead, Shrewsbury, Barton under Needwood,
New Barnet and elsewhere. In 1805 some of the glass was offered for sale.
[9]
The origin of the glass in these two bays is also uncertain. It belonged to the
Marquess of Ely having bought it from France. It was then sold to Christie’s
auction house around 1845 and kept in storage. It was purchased in 1895 for
£2000. There were possibly previous owners before it was obtained by
Christie’s.
[10]
In collaboration with Belgium glasswork consultants.
[11]
Strap leads added when the windows were removed in the Second World War were
removed.
[12]
C. Winston, Memoirs illustrative of the art of glass-painting. (London:
1865), 251.
[13]
Y. V. Bemden and I. Lecocq, ‘The stained glass of Herkenrode Abbey’. Corpus
Vitrearum Medii Aevii. Great Britain. (2021).