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 Barnabas Church, Franche, Kidderminster, Design for Stained Glass Window (1985)

Signed, dated and studio stamp verso.

St Barnabas Church, a red brick church designed by Martin & Chamberlain, was established in Franche in 1871 as a chapel-of-ease to the Parish Church of Kidderminster, St Mary and All Saints. St Barnabas is known for its diverse collection of stained glass windows and, alongside Gray’s modern memorial window, features windows in the Arts and Crafts style, likely designed by Benjamin Warren. Designed in 1985, this window was installed in the church in 1987.

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)

Game Bird Designs for Stained Glass Roundels (1987)

Dated and detailed in the artist's hand verso.

These pencil-sketched designs for two stained glass roundels charmingly depict a red legged partridge and quail set against simple pastoral backgrounds. Gray spent the later years of her life in the rural countryside of Shropshire and was fond of the natural world around her, plants and flowers, in particular, often featuring in her religious and secular work.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St John’s Church, Pool Quay, Design for Stained Glass Roundel (2005)

Signed and studio stamp verso.

St John's Church was built in 1861 under the patronage of the third Earl of Powys to provide for the religious needs of the largely industrial population of Pool Quay. The church was originally designed in the Early English style but was extensively restored first in 1956 and again in 2003/4. Despite this, it still retains its unique charm, built in the instantly recognisable red Sweeney Mountain sandstone, and features stained glass windows by Winfield of Birmingham (1891) and Camm of Smethwick (1899). This design by Gray features eight lights containing attributes of St John and other Christian symbols.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

Christ Church, Charnock Richard, Lancashire Design for Stained Glass Window (1989)

Signed, dated and studio stamp verso.

Christ Church was built in 1860 at the heart of the 13th century country village of Charnock Richard. Alongside its stained glass windows, the church boasts historic tile work and an exceptional  marble memorial to the original benefactor’s wife, Frances Darlington. This window was installed in 1990.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

Mount Vernon Hospital, Design for Stained Glass Window (1982)

Dated and artist label verso.

Mount Vernon Hospital is located in Northwood, in north-west Greater London and was founded as The North London Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest in a mansion on Hampstead High Street in 1860. A purpose-built but beautiful hospital at Mount Vernon was built in 1881 in the French Renaissance style but in 1901, it was decided to build a more-modern facility on part of the Northwood Park Estate which was opened in 1904.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Andrew’s Church, Walton-on-Thames, Design for Stained Glass Window (1993)

Signed, dated and studio stamp verso.

St Andrew’s Church was built in 1931 but its story began some years earlier in 1928 when a group of Scots and those with Scottish roots, started meeting in the Walton Playhouse to worship under a retired Presbyterian Minister. Over time, funds were raised to build a proper church, the foundation stone laid in 1931, bearing the Presbyterian Church’s Latin motto,  ‘Nec Tamen Consumebatur’ (and yet it was not consumed) from the Old Testament story of Moses and the Burning Bush. In 1972, alongside most Presbyterian Churches of England, St Andrew’s united with The Congregational Church of England and Wales to form, ‘The United Reformed Church’. This window features a red cross with St Andrew’s cross, along with the Alpha and Omega, and was installed in 1994.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

Northgate, Design for Stained Glass Window

Gray left little information about this design but it is possibly for a shopping centre or similar building. Nevertheless, this design perfectly captures Gray’s colourful and quintessentially modern style and approach to stained glass window design. Here, Gray uses a few key colours, strong lines, and geometrical elements to construct her multi-panelled, lettered design.

Jane Gray (b.1931)

St Peter's Church, Martindale, Design for Stained Glass Window (1980)