St Agnes (detail), St John the Baptist, Holland Road, Kensington, probably by Clayton & Bell

St Agnes (detail)

Probably by Clayton & Bell

After 1894

South aisle, first window

St John the Baptist, Holland Road

Kensington, London

The listing text says, "The aisle and transept windows contain figures of saints installed between 1894 and 1914; most are by Clayton & Bell." Only three other firms are specified for the church as a whole, and these are for different windows: Kempe for the second south aisle window (Cherry and Pevsner 458); Hardman for the east window (listing text); and Percy Bacon Brothers for the great west window (listing text). [Commentary continues below.]

Photograph by John Salmon and text by Jacqueline Banerjee.

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This window, then, is likely to have been by Clayton & Bell. It is dedicated to Agnes Tinson who died in 1894, and shows the martyred St Agnes looking serene and compassionate, with rippling hair and a flowery robe, amid prettily flowering architectural borders. She is crowned, and surrounded by a blaze of glory, as she comforts those who mourn for her or pray to her on earth. The appropriately consoling text above the composition reads, "Weep not but rejoice for me. A throne is prepared in heaven."

Related Material

St John the Baptist, Holland Road (by James Brooks)

References

Cherry, Bridget, and Nikolaus Pevsner. London 3: North West. London: Penguin, 1991.

"List Entry" (for St John the Baptist, Holland Road). Historic England. Web. 21 May 2015.

Created 21 May 2015