Christ Church is the Church of England parish church immediately north east of Hampstead village and is closely linked with the Heath. The present church was built in the Early Gothic style by the architect Samuel Daukes between 1850 and 1852.
No major restoration work had taken place since then and the ravages of time became all too evident. So...in 2015 a major renovation project was begun to restore the building, including its lofty spire, to its former glory.
The West Window, dating from the original building in 1850-52, was in danger of collapsing. Lincolnshire Stained Glass Studio were given the painstaking job of restoring the large window and its 24 beautiful stained glass shields. A further part of the project was to add more stained glass to the Church as examples of the "Gothic Revival" design heritage of the building.
At this point, in early 2019, the Stained Glass Repository was asked for its help in providing appropriate stained glass. It was decided that the initial work would be to a north aisle window and that it should be complimentary to the heraldic work in the West Window. A series of windows from the church of St John the Evangelist, Hallen, Bristol and held in the Stained Glass Repository since 1994, was chosen along with a roundel depicting the head of Christ the King.
David Sear, of Lincolnshire Stained Glass, again devised a scheme for the use of the heraldic shields. Reusing the border glass from the fragmented panels and adding red and blue glass to create a border detail, the redesigned window tied in with the vestry windows and the western most window of the south aisle. An amber cathedral background glass supports the shields and creates a warm tone.
Coronavirus has had an effect on this project as it has with so many other aspects of life in 2020, of course, and the celebrations to accompany the installation of the new window have had to be postponed.
So it was that, on Sunday 21 November,2021 the dedication of the windows was finally able to take place. A party of eight Glaziers attended the dedication service – Michael Dalton then Master; Liveryman Vivienne Lester, Secretary of the Stained Glass Repository, and her husband, David; Past Master Peter Beesley, Repository Committee member, and his wife, Elizabeth; Liveryman Ann Hollywood, Repository Committee Member; and Freeman and former Clerk Andrew Gordon-Lennox, and his wife, Julia.
The Dedication Service, which followed a High Mass with beautiful music, and attended by some 150 people, was led by the incumbent, Canon Paul Conrad. After the service we all enjoyed drinks and a splendid buffet lunch laid on by the parishioners, giving the opportunity to inspect the windows more closely and meet members of the congregation, some from families whose loved ones are commemorated in the donated windows.
The windows in situ.
Fundraising continues for the last phase of the Grand Restoration which has been made possible by very generous gifts from philanthropic sponsors and contributors.
Images on this page courtesy of David Sears, David Whyman and Michael Dalton.