The Building Conservation website [visit
link] tells us:
"Holy Trinity, Sloane Square, London
is one of the most artistically significant churches in the UK. Designed by the
architect John Dando Sedding, it was consecrated on 13 May 1890 and is a Grade I
listed building. It is a classic example of a late 19th century gothic style
church, drawing on an eclectic range of styles including early medieval,
Byzantine, pre-renaissance Italian and English Decorated Gothic. Poet laureate
Sir John Betjeman, with his passion for architecture and churches, dubbed it
‘the cathedral of the Arts & Crafts Movement’, a phrase that
stuck.
Sedding was a founding member of the
Arts & Crafts Movement and one of the most distinguished designers and
architects of his time. He was an accomplished designer of wallpaper,
embroidery, metalwork and sculpture. As a founder and second master of the Art
Workers’ Guild, Sedding’s aim was to revive the medieval system of cooperation
between architect and craftsman.
Holy Trinity is home to a wealth of
treasures from the Arts & Crafts period including works by Henry Wilson, a
student of Sedding who completed the building of Holy Trinity following
Sedding’s death. The angel lectern and spandrels of the nave and chancel arches
were designed by Henry Hugh Armstead, the angels on the pillars of the Baroque
chancel screen and panels in the choir stalls were designed by Frederick
Pomeroy, the altar frontal of the entombment was carved by Harry Bates of the
New Sculpture movement and the reredos is the work of John
Tweed.
Occupying a prominent position in
the heart of Chelsea in London, the church was badly hit by German air raids
during the Second World War. In September 1940 a bomb fell on the church causing
a fire that put its organ out of action for six years. Another bomb hit the
church in May 1941 destroying the roof. Miraculously, the Great Eastern Window
remained undamaged, but it took ten years to complete a new permanent
roof.
In recent decades, in line with the
growing prosperity of the neighbourhood, the church has been rejuvenated as a
focal point of the local community. The building is open to the public
throughout the day, holding daily morning and evening prayer
sessions.
In light of the many treasures in
the church, it was decided in April 2007 to commission a condition survey to
establish the extent of repairs that would be necessary to maintain the
building. The detailed condition survey found that, given its age and history,
the church was generally in a good state of repair although some urgent repairs
were necessary to avoid progressive decay.
Window Conservation:
Even among this extraordinary
confluence of art and architecture, Holy Trinity’s stained glass is often
considered the finest of its treasures. The most notable example is the Great
East Window, designed by the pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones. It is a
classic example of a 12 light window and depicts 48 figures including prophets,
apostles and saints beneath scenes from the Nativity, the Garden of Eden, the
Crucifixion and the Annunciation. The window is the largest ever manufactured by
Morris & Co.
The south aisle windows and
clerestory windows were designed by Christopher Whall, arguably the most
important stained glass artist of the 20th century. The initial design concepts
for Holy Trinity survive in a sketchbook held by the William Morris Gallery in
Walthamstow.
The stained glass in the church,
although dirty, was in reasonably good condition. All the glass was cleaned but
only the two Christopher Whall windows in the south aisle were releaded. Minor
repairs were undertaken to other windows. While the resources were available and
the Whall glass was in the workshop the opportunity was taken to commission
Peter Cormack of the William Morris Museum to draft a report on the history of
the glass in the church. It was discovered that descriptions exist in Whall’s
notebooks for every window at clerestory level but that only part of the scheme
was ever cartooned and realised. The legibility of these windows in particular
has been greatly improved by the in situ cleaning.
South windows III and IV were
produced by Whall in collaboration with JD Sedding. It is clear that Sedding had
great faith in Whall’s abilities and included him in the design process for the
elaborate scheme of decoration which he had planned for Holy Trinity as early as
March 1889.
Window III is a four light window
depicting The Holy Spirit and the Pentecost, and dates from 1907. It was
designed by Whall and made with the collaboration of his pupils and assistants
at his newly established studio-workshop at 1 Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith. The
window was donated to the church by Frederica Cook in memory of her husband,
Wyndham Francis Cook, who died in 1905.
Window IV is a three light window
that depicts The Adoration of the Magi and the Shepherds, and dates from 1900.
It was designed by Whall and made by him in collaboration with his pupils and
assistants, using the workshops of Messrs Lowndes & Drury of 35 Park Walk,
Chelsea. The window was donated by Mrs E Harvey in memory of her husband, Edmund
Harvey, who died in 1898. These great windows by Christopher Whall are rightly
considered to be major works of the Arts and Crafts period.
The reasons behind the intervention
were straightforward; the extremely heavy leaded panels were severely bowed and
this was causing the glass to crack and allowing water ingress. In common with
many Whall windows these are constructed using his beloved ‘Norman Slab’ glass
and heavy lead ‘cames’ with a very deep heart section (the part of the H section
which separates the glass panes). The decision was taken to remove both windows
for cleaning and repair following the recommendations of the original report of
March 2007.
The windows were removed by
carefully chipping away the perimeter mortar and the panels were then
transported to the workshop. In the workshop a number of steps were carried out
in the conservation of the stained glass. These were as follows:
1 The conservators closely examined
the panels individually, taking careful note of the glass types, condition of
painted detail and methods employed in the original leading of the
panes.
2 Detailed photographs were taken of
the lead matrix to allow conservators to consult full scale computer images of
the original panels during the reconstruction. A photographic record was taken
of each panel on the light box in reflected light and transmitted light, clearly
scale marked.
3 Three rubbings were carefully
taken from the leadwork of each panel. One of these was used to lay out the
glass following dismantling from the lead. The second was used as a guide during
re-leading and the third was marked up as a conservation diagram using CBC
(Church Buildings Council) annotation.
4 The glass was then carefully
cleaned using a 50/50 solution of acetone and de-ionised water. Cracks to the
glass were repaired employing the copper foil method, which is reversible but,
like a thin lead came, obscures the edges of the glass on either side. In
isolated places pieces which had multiple cracks were edge bonded with epoxy
resin (Araldite 2020) to reduce the visual impact of the repairs. Protective
backing glasses were not provided as the great thickness of the original glass
allowed the resin to form a very strong bond.
5 Lead was commissioned with the
same sections as the original with heart depths of 6, 8 and 10mm. This allowed
the original lead forms to be accurately replicated. However, for the thickest
pieces of Prior’s Norman Slab it was necessary to open out the lead further to
accommodate the glass. In these areas the heart of the lead was soldered to
ensure rigidity.
6 The panels were cemented in the
traditional manner; photographs of the completed panels were taken as before.
Numerous ‘in progress’ photographic details were also taken.
7 The panels were then re-fixed on
site into a hydraulic lime mortar using one part St Astier NHL3.5 to three parts
sharp sand and horse hair.
Building
Conservation:
The building itself was found to be
structurally sound, although there were several areas where rainwater had
penetrated creating a need to repair roof coverings and overhaul and improve the
rainwater drainage system. Equally important was the installation of a new
access harness system that will allow routine maintenance of the drains to be
performed more regularly.
At
the front of the building the stonework at the top of the facade, particularly
that of the parapet, was showing signs of considerable erosion. Early
photographs show that the parapet was originally constructed as a pierced open
screen. The infilling brick panels are a later addition. Such slender detailing
in this exposed location was always going to be problematic. Consideration was
given to removing the brick infill but this approach was rejected since it would
have resulted in far greater replacement of the stonework if the structural
stability of the parapet was to be guaranteed.
The repair approach adopted
generally was to indent with new sections of stone as mortar repairs were not
considered appropriate for such exposed locations. Priority was given to
repairing hood mouldings and other elements that protect the surfaces beneath,
and some of these had to be replaced, including those above the clerestory
windows in particular. In the parapet a few complete blocks of stone also had to
be replaced.
The stone finial at the apex of the
west front was renewed. It was unclear when this had been lost but it may have
been a victim of the bombing. The design was developed using record photographs
and design elements found elsewhere in the building. The finial sits above an
alcove accommodating a statue of Christ. Minor consolidation work was carried
out to the face and robes on the statue but the temptation to reinstate the
eroded face of the statue was resisted.
Gentle cleaning of the brick and
stonework on the flank and rear elevations helped to identify defects during the
repairs contract but also revealed the yellow and red banding on the face of the
church that had previously been concealed by dirt. The interior of the church
was originally finished in the same way but has since been covered with painted
plaster.
The quality of the lead detailing to
the west elevation cupolas is exceptional but previous repairs to the lead-lined
gutters at the base of the two large cupolas had been poorly executed and had
resulted in saturation of the timber wall plates beneath. The bases of both
cupolas had to be almost totally rebuilt. Sourcing timbers of the required size
proved difficult and the structural engineers had to develop a design that
minimised the extent of replacement while ensuring stability throughout the
process of rebuilding.
Due to the position of the building
and the size of this project it was essential to keep the entire church covered
in scaffolding for nine months. With the scaffolding now removed and almost all
of the essential work to the exterior of the building complete, it is unlikely
that a programme of this scale will be needed for at least another 40
years."
The church is Grade I listed and the,
very brief, entry at English Heritage [visit
link] tells us:
"Church. 1890. J D Sedding,
architect. Red brick, and stone panels and banding. Late Gothic style with
8-light flowing traceried west window and corner turrets. Good stained glass,
decorations and fittings by eminent artists and craftsmen. Art Nouveau
ironwork."
The church's website [visit link]
lists the times and days of services:
"Weekday Services
Morning &
Evening Prayer (said)
Monday to Friday 9.00 am & 5.00 pm
Contemplative Prayer
Monday 7.30
am - 8.00 am
Followed by a light breakfast
Contemplative Prayer and Bible
Study
Saturday 10.30 am - 11.30 am
Said Eucharist (with Holy
Communion)
Every Wednesday 6.30 pm
(Healing Eucharist on first Wednesday
of the month)
Every Wednesday 1.10 pm
Sunday Services
Said Eucharist
8.45 am Sung Eucharist 11 am
With Children's Church (term time
only)."