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St Edward’s:
150 Years
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of 1888 in memory of an OSE, Robert Morgan Tamplin (Roll
no 359), a fine organist, who died heroically in a fire while
saving others at the Theatre Royal, Exeter, in 1887. In addition
to those windows that are shown in the diagram there are two
more recent Memorial Windows at the west end of the nave
designed by Hugh Easton and completed in 1950: that on
the northern side of the central aisle to Thomas Chamberlain,
the School’s founder, who had died in 1892, and the other to
Warden Sing (who died in 1947) on the southern side of the
central aisle. The Kenneth Grahame window (1936) in the
Memorial Chapel, given by his widow, Elspeth Grahame, was
designed by Christopher Webb, includes the words ‘Its walls
were as of Jasper’ and shows a scene from a tale in his book
Dream Days
. The east window over the altar in the Memorial
Chapel was presented by W.H. Weatherley in 1933 in memory
of his son William Robert Weatherley (F, 1922–7), a former
Head of School, who died at the age of 22; it was designed by
Christopher Well.
Oak panelling was added to the Chapel walls in 1903 as part
of the Boer War Memorial, and plaques for the three OSE lost
were placed on the panelling together with the names of two
others lost in earlier conflicts. This custom was subsequently
continued for the fallen OSE of the First World War.
The School’s Jubilee in 1913 was celebrated with Simeon
returning to conduct the Choral Eucharist in the Chapel and
to officiate at Evensong, when he preached the sermon. The
Chapel was filled to capacity for both services and a long
procession at the morning service included the choir, the
Warden (Sing) and all three ex-Wardens, the Warden-in-waiting
(Ferguson), three Bishops, three Archdeacons, and the vicar of
Summertown. The Bishop of London preached the sermon.
During the Great War there were memorial services, the
reading of the roll of the known dead at a special Matins each
Friday by the Warden, and the Chapel was a place of quiet
and prayer at such a ghastly time. The bells were not sounded
throughout the war and the clock was stopped. Wilfrid Cowell
(who served the School for a record 57 years) continued to add
individual panels for those who fell in the Great War, and they
were needed in large numbers.
In 1914 the top three steps to the altar were removed and the
present platform installed which at last exposed the whole of the
central window and the string course below and gave more space
around the altar. Eventually the entire Nave was refurbished with
wooden pews and the floor replaced with wooden boards.
In about 1924 the pulpit was removed to give more space
and later the number of pews, which had replaced the chairs
The stained glass of the Chapel deserves special
consideration as much of it is by the notable Victorian
practitioner Charles Eamer Kempe (1837–1907). There
follows a diagram showing the windows by Kempe and
others installed in the chancel and nave up to 1910. From
his time as a student at Pembroke College, Oxford, Kempe
had been a member of the Oxford Movement. His severe
stammer precluded him becoming a priest and he decided
‘if I was not permitted to minister in the Sanctuary I would
use my talents to adorn it’ (from Kempe’s obituary printed
in
The Church Times
for 7 May 1907; we thank the Kempe
Society for this information).
He was a pupil of one of the leading ecclesiastical architects,
George Frederick Bodley (1827–1907), from whom he learned
about Gothic architecture, which enjoyed an important revival
in the 19th century, was embraced by the Oxford Movement,
and included a renewed interest in stained glass. His trademark
was a golden
garb
, or wheat sheaf, taken from his own coat of
arms. The subject of the four chancel windows either side of
The Crucifixion
are the seven sacraments and death/burial. It
is noteworthy that Simeon gave the window entitled
Marriage
himself in 1884 to commemorate his own marriage.
On the south side of the nave, at its east end, are two
windows with figures of
Charity
and
Hope
of 1901 and 1903,
also by Kempe, given in memory of Felicia Mary Skene,
Warden Simeon’s friend and confidante, and Alfred Spurling;
the latter was killed in action at Rietpoort in 1901 at the age
of 21. Opposite is a
Baptism of Christ
of 1910, intended as
the first in a series of scenes from the childhood of Christ and
given in memory of Joseph Sandell, who died in 1908 at the
age of 34. At the west end of the nave, also on the north side,
is the dramatic
The Three Holy Children in the Fiery Furnace
TheredcopeshowsStEdward,KingandMartyr,seatedonwhatmay
be a heavenly throne, suggesting that he has overcome death and
attainedeternallifethroughhissainthood.Thereiswhatseemstobe
a reference tohimbeinganAngle (as inAnglo-Saxon) at thebottom
right.Thesymbolsarethoseofthecupanddagger;hewasmartyred
by being stabbed in the back whilst receiving a cup fromhis step-
mother. The shields are made in blue and gold, the School colours.
The red Chasuble depicts the cup and dagger once again,
symbols of the martyrdom of St Edward, King and Martyr. Around
thesymbolsareangelsplayinginstrumentsrepresentingtheheavenly
worship of God, which it is the purpose of all earthly worship to
emulate. The red colour is such that this Chasuble would normally
be worn on Saints Days, particularly on those who have been
martyred,withtheredrepresentingblood.RediswornatPentecost
to symbolise the advent of the arrival of the Holy Spirit in fire and
wind, and is also worn in Holy Week leading up to Easter Day.
THE COPES
Diagramofthestained
glass of the Chapel
by Nicola Hunter and
Nicola Perkins.
Chapter 4 / The Chapel