Jane Gray (b.1931)

St John the Baptist Church, Preen Manor, Design for Stained Glass Window (2003)

  Watercolour 17.5 x 5 cm

Signed, dated and studio stamp verso.

St John the Baptist Church sits at the heart of the Shropshire hamlet, Preen. Church Preen Manor sits adjacent to the church and lies on an old Clunjac Monastery, thought to have been built in 1159. The present church was built in the 13th century although it was originally a monastic church, founded as a cell of Wenlock Priory in 1163 and features in the Domesday Book. A prior and two or three monks would have served the church, however the priory has little remains, excepting a few visible in the gardens of Church Preen Manor.

Provenance: the artist’s studio sale. Literature: Jane Gray, Playing with Rainbows. (Shropshire: Ellingham Press, 2011), p.88. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. For other works by Jane Gray and more information about her, please click here.    

Jane Gray (b.1931)

All Saints Church, Lightwater, Surrey, Design for Stained Glass Window (1990)

  Watercolour 18 x 6 cm

Signed, dated and studio stamp verso.

All Saints Church in Lightwater, Surrey was built and dedicated in 1903. Prior to this, services were held in Florence Laundry in Guildford Road as, at that time, Lightwater was a small hamlet. With the development of nurseries and cottages to house the influx of workers that followed soon after, the Conventional District of All Saints’ was formed in 1931. Before this, All Saints Church had been a daughter church of Windlesham. A Priest-in-Charge was appointed shortly after the split in 1931 and a vestry extension was added to the building. This window commemorates the church’s organist, Catherine Challen, and features symbols associated with St Cecilia in acknowledgement of her musical contribution. The window was installed in 1991.

Provenance: the artist’s studio sale. Literature: Jane Gray, Playing with Rainbows. (Shropshire: Ellingham Press, 2011), p.79. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. For other works by Jane Gray and more information about her, please click here.    

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St James’ Church, Weddington, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, Design for Stained Glass Memorial Window (1989)

  Watercolour 19 x 10.5 cm Signed, dated and studio stamp verso.

St James’ Church in Weddington dates back to the early-14th-century. The chancel, nave, and west tower were rebuilt in red brick in 1733, and the building was restored in 1881, when Gothic windows were inserted in place of the 1733 details. This design fantastically demonstrates Gray’s modernist style, with her colourful palette and simple yet detailed, geometrical structure. This window was installed in 1990.

Provenance: the artist’s studio sale. Literature: Jane Gray, Playing with Rainbows. (Shropshire: Ellingham Press, 2011), p.80. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. For other works by Jane Gray and more information about her, please click here.    

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St James, Temple Sowerby, Cumbria, Design for Stained Glass Window (1978)

  Watercolour 30 x 12 cm Signed and dated verso.

St James’ Church in Temple Sowerby, Cumbria was built in 1754, and enlarged in 1770, the west tower being added in 1807. In his 1831 work, A Topographical Dictionary of England, Samuel Lewis described the church as ‘a handsome structure of red freestone, with a square tower and portico’.

Provenance: the artist’s studio sale. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. For other works by Jane Gray and more information about her, please click here.    

Jane Gray (b.1931)

Design for Large Stained Glass Window in a Church

  Watercolour and pencil

33.5 x 20.5 cm

This design for a stained glass window draws together Gray’s modern yet traditional approach to designing church windows. The design features a central, inwardly repeating star shape with bright flame-like shapes curling upwards from its corners. This central motif sits against a blue sky background with smaller stars scattered in the smaller glass panes at the top of the design.

Provenance: the artist’s studio sale. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. For other works by Jane Gray and more information about her, please click here.    

Jane Gray (b.1931)

Stained Glass Window Design, St Mary’s Church, Twickenham (1960)

  Watercolour

41 x 37 cm

Signed and dated l.r.

This stained glass window design is one of a handful Gray designed for her local church, St Mary’s Twickenham. St Mary’s Church stands on the site of an earlier church in Twickenham, a short distance from York House and the banks of the River Thames, and incorporates a 15th-century, medieval tower. St Mary's has an impressive and illustrious history of notable parishioners including the painter Godfrey Kneller who, after the collapse of the ancient church's 14th-century nave in 1714, took active involvement in redesigning the church in the Neo-classical style alongside local architect John James, as well as Henry Fielding and Alfred Lord Tennyson whose sons were both baptised here. Gray had a personal connection to St Mary’s, her great grandfather having been the vicar some years before. This design, in particular, commemorates the  benedictine monastery at the mouth of the Somme River: the Abbey of Saint Valery-sur-Somme. The imagery focusses on the repeated motif of the heraldic and highly symbolic fleur-de-lis, set against a sky blue background, the central shield containing the head of an ornate, gilt shepherd’s crook; a religious symbol of care, particularly in difficult circumstances.

Provenance: the artist’s studio sale. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. For other works by Jane Gray and more information about her, please click here.    

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Margaret’s Church, Downham, Billericay, Essex, Design for Stained Glass Window

  Watercolour 15.5 x 7.5 cm

Signed and studio stamp verso.

It is likely that Christians have worshiped at this site for over a thousand years, but it wasn’t until the mid13th century that the first recorded church appeared. The church is dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch, a dragon slayer and patron saint of child bearing. Devotion Saint Margaret of Antioch became popular in the 13th century and there are around 80 churches today that share this dedication from the 13th century. The oldest part of the present church is the tower which dates from c.1470. The nave was rebuilt in the nineteenth century using much of the material from the thirteenth century church. An arson attack in March 1977 resulted in the gutting of the church, resulting in a highly modern interior. This window features the symbol of St Margaret and a red Cross on quarry background. The window was installed in 1988.

Provenance: the artist’s studio sale. Literature: Jane Gray, Playing with Rainbows. (Shropshire: Ellingham Press, 2011), p.79. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. For other works by Jane Gray and more information about her, please click here.    

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Peter’s Church, Cound, Shropshire, Design for Stained Glass Window (1999)

  Watercolour 16.5 x 11.5 cm

Signed, dated and studio stamp verso.

Proposed design for a window on the south wall, over the font. St Peter’s Church, Cound lies in the grounds of the Cound Hall estate and is dedicated to St Peter because of its medieval association with Shrewsbury Abbey (dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul). The oldest part of the present church dates back to the 13th century but it has been renovated several times since then, with additions from the 14th, 15th and 19th centuries.

Provenance: the artist’s studio sale. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. For other works by Jane Gray and more information about her, please click here.