Weekend event in Kent

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John Trinick, Salmestone Grange: Esther (above); c artoon for East window (below)

he stained glass event in Margate, Saturday 4th June, was a memorable day not only because of the glass we viewed but also because of the generous welcome by our hosts, Robin Fleet and his wife Taeko. All arrived at their home in good time and after coffee and biscuits to prepare us for the day. We set off in shared cars, quickly reaching the Chapel at the 12th Century manor of Salmestone Grange. The windows filling every opening were by John Trinick, an Australian artist, who trained for three years with Christopher Whall until Whall's death in 1924. They were made over an 18-year period and completed in 1952. Ten years were dedicated exclusively to the project. Original, extraordinary, unique, are words which comes to mind and his windows are a mosaic of many thousands of pieces of glass. Subjects covered are The Creation, Old Testament (Moses, Abraham, Elijah to name some) and New Testament paralleled with some Greek mythology as well and one window on the history of the church. These are panels of small figures surrounded by miniature pieces of glass and much of that comprises text as a commentary to the image. Photographs cannot do them justice and one can only marvel at the conviction and creative energy behind the work. For several years Trinick had his studio in Margate and the main body of his work was for Catholic churches. (For more information on J. Trinick, see the article by Stephen Reynolds, p. 63 Journal 1998.) Returning to Robin and Taeko's house, lunch was laid out in Taeko's Japanese-styled dining room; pleasing to the eye, it comprised a feast of filled sandwiches followed by exotic flavoured ice-creams. The weather was kind so we enjoyed consuming it in the garden. Splendidly revived, we set off to view St Augustine's Abbey in Ramsgate; designed and built by Pugin, adjacent to `The Grange' the gothic style house he built in 1844. Mrs Catriona Blaker, cofounder of the Pugin Society, was there to welcome us and she gave a good account of the background to Pugin's day-to-day life there. Most interesting was the vestry room where we paused for discussion and looked at books of Pugin's designs and drawings. Hearing about his working methods and lifestyle one felt a closeness to this extraordinary man and his family, in the way they lived and worked together. As one would expect, the building and chapel was a visual feast of his work; the stained glass was mainly made by Hardman's Studio. As is often the case, the time we had was too short to absorb it all and regrettably we weren't able to visit his house next door as it is currently undergoing restoration by the Landmark Trust. The last stop of the day was St Andrew's Church, Wickhambreaux, with its stunning Art Nouveau East window of 1896, designed by Count Arild Rosenkrantz. (Some members will have visited this church at the BSMGP Canterbury gathering in the 1980s.) Mr Dick Bolton, the church warden, welcomed us and gave a short history of the window and then we were free to examine it from closer quarters. Rosenkrantz's method of working was similar to that of La Farge and Tiffany. At 4 pm it was a little late in the day as the window would be best seen in the morning; with its opalescent glass and lots of plating it needs plenty of back illumination and the afternoon light was playing on the front of the glass. Thus, with chatter over a pots of tea in the nearby village inn, ended a most enjoyable day in the Saturday Events calendar. Our thanks go to Robin and Taeko for making this possible. NB The planned day to look at windows with John Haywood in the City of London has had to be postponed until next year. Hopefully it will take place in the spring and probably on a Friday as entry to churches on a Saturday raises too many organisational difficulties. Andrew Taylor

Please register your interest with me if you would like to attend. Andrew Taylor: andrew@stainedglass.fsnet.co.uk; tel: 01380 813878

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