Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Wilfrid’s Church, Ribchester, Lancashire, Design for Stained Glass Memorial Window (1995)

St Wilfrid’s Church, Ribchester is situated in the picturesque Ribble Valley, in the heart of rural Lancashire, and dates back to the 13th century. It has since undergone several alterations in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries as well as substantial restoration works in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The village of Ribchester grew out of the ruins of the Roman fort of Bremetenaccum and the Parish Church of St Wilfrid's stands where the key buildings of the fort would have been. This window was installed in 1996.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Peter’s Church, Martindale, Design for Benedicite Stained Glass Windows (1975-77)

St Peter’s Church was built in Martindale, Cumbria in 1880 by a local craftsman using stone from the surrounding area. The church is situated in an enchanting rural oasis and has connections to the acclaimed modern poet, Kathleen Raine, who lived in the Old Vicarage, as well as William and Dorothy Wordsworth who visited the area on one of their Cumbrian excursions. Gray’s ‘Martindale Era’ lasted from 1974-1981, in which time, she designed and installed fifteen stained glass windows in St Peter’s Church. This pair of windows were commissioned as Gray was constructing her fifth, and supposedly last, window; the church had received a gift from an American donor who shared the name ‘Martindale’ and the vicar decided to commission two more windows on the them of the Benedicite.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Peter’s Church, Martindale Design for Stained Glass Windows (1976)

Studio label verso.

St Peter’s Church was built in Martindale, Cumbria in 1880 by a local craftsman using stone from the surrounding area. The church is situated in an enchanting rural oasis and has connections to the acclaimed modern poet, Kathleen Raine, who lived in the Old Vicarage, as well as William and Dorothy Wordsworth who visited the area on one of their Cumbrian excursions. Gray’s ‘Martindale Era’ lasted from 1974-1981, in which time, she designed and installed fifteen stained glass windows in St Peter’s Church. These window designs are for Resurrection and Passion windows on the north-side of the church.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Peter’s Church, Chorley, Lancashire, Design for Stained Glass Window (1987)

Signed, dated and studio stamp verso.

St Peter’s Church was designed by the Liverpudlian architect, Charles Reed in the Early English style and built in 1850 with stone donated from Lady Hoghton’s nearby quarry. Reed wrote, ‘The general effect is expected to be very quaint and beautiful, while its elevated situation will make it a charming landmark from every side’. The church was consecrated on St Mark’s Day, 1851 by the first Bishop of Manchester, the Rt. Revd. James Prince Lee. This window was installed in 1988.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Paul’s Church, Marton, Design for Stained Glass Window (1984)

Signed, dated and artist label verso.

Worship at Marton, a township-chapelry in Poulton-le-Fylde parish, Lancashire, began in 1760 but it wasn’t until 1800 that Marton got it’s own church dedicated to St Paul. Gray’s vibrant design for the church’s south wall window depicts the stages of creation against a swirling night sky and features the biblical line, ‘and God saw that it was good’, from Genesis 1:31. This design fantastically demonstrates Gray’s modernist style, with her simple yet detailed, geometrical delineation of her subjects.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Nicholas Church, Worth Matravers, Dorset, Design for Memorial Stained Glass Window (1978)

Dated and detailed in artist’s hand with studio label verso.

St Nicholas Church in Worth Matravers is one of the oldest churches in Dorset. It was built around the year 1100 AD. Though the majority of the church is Norman, some of the stonework appears to come from an earlier building, suggesting that there was a church here in the late Saxon period. This memorial window commemorates Diana Strange who died tragically in 1977. It was commissioned by her husband who was a keen admirer of Gray’s work and centres on the Elizabethan chalice used in St Nicholas’ Church. The window directly opposite contains another memorial window designed by Gray for Diana’s Husband, John Strange, who died seven years later. Diana's memorial window was installed in 1979.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Nicholas Church, Worth Matravers, Dorset, Design for Memorial Stained Glass Window (1983)

St Nicholas Church in Worth Matravers is one of the oldest churches in Dorset. It was built around the year 1100 AD. Though the majority of the church is Norman, some of the stonework appears to come from an earlier building, suggesting that there was a church here in the late Saxon period.This memorial window commemorates John Strange who died in 1984. It was commissioned in advance by John, a keen admirer of Gray’s work, after his wife, Diana, died tragically in 1977. John asked that his window included the sea view from their home, and the vine of grapes in the top panes nods to the full chalice in Diana’s window which sits directly opposite John’s and was also designed by Gray. John’s window was installed in the church in 1986.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Mary’s Church, Sullington, Design for Stained Glass Window (1992)

Signed, dated and studio stamp verso.

The little church of St Mary’s, Sullington, has laid nestled beneath the Sussex Downs for almost a thousand years, within the bounds of an even older yew grove. The tower and the nave date back to c.1050 but were altered in the Norman period and again in thee 12th and 13th centuries.This small window pays remembrance to the local carpenter and verger. The design incorporates carpenters’ tools, peacock feathers from the peacocks in the neighbouring Manor House who often joined the church services, the Church’s communion chalice, and a view of the Sussex Downs. This window was installed in 1992.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Mary’s Church, Penwortham, Lancashire, Design for Stained Glass Window Dedicated to the Royal British Legion (1984)

Dated and artist label verso.

St Mary’s Church, set in the midst of ancient woodland, is the parish church of the Ancient Parish of Penwortham and dates from the 14th century. The church Nave and Chancel contain several memorial windows and tablets sacred to the memory of parishioners who have died; most are Victorian, such as memorial to John Horrocks, a prominent industrialist in the golden age of the Lancashire cotton industry who founded the textile company Horrockses, Miller, & Co., but the North wall features Gray’s traditional design for a window dedicated to the Royal British Legion.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Mary’s Church, Chirk, Design for Stained Glass Window Dedicated to the Royal British Legion (1992)

Signed, dated and studio stamp verso.

The first stone church in Chirk was erected during the early 11th Century by the Normans, however, the site of St Mary’s church is originally thought to be a llan—a Welsh phrase that denotes a walled enclosure containing a chapel, hermit’s huts and burials—dedicated to Saint Tysilio. The church was re-dedicated to Saint Mary in the late 15th or early 16th century and remained part of the Church of England until the disestablishment of the Welsh Church in 1921. Gray’s stained glass design commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings in her inimitably modern style and features the archetypal motif of red poppies, scattered across the three window panels. The leek, rose, thistle, and shamrock roundels nod to the key symbols of the British Isles. The window was installed and dedicated by the Archbishop of Wales in 1994.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Mary’s Church, Bushbury, Wolverhampton, Design for Stained Glass Window (1989)

Signed, dated and studio stamp verso.

St Mary’s Church was built in the mid 14th century but underwent substantial renovations in the 19th century to the designs of Wolverhampton architect, Edward Banks with advice from the notable, Sir Gilbert Scott. St Mary’s is thought to have inspired the church at ‘M’ visited by Borrow and the Petulengroes in Chapter VIII of George Borrow’s 1857 novel, The Romany Rye. One of Gray’s most interesting and beautiful designs, this stained glass window demonstrates the artist’s distinctly modern approach, capturing something of her artistic predecessor, Hilma af Klint’s characteristic geometric style and colour palette.