Christopher Whall

Resurrection window (1893), St. Clement's Church, Boscombe, Dorset

Whall's career as an independent designer and maker of stained glass began in the late 1880s. This coincided with the emergence of the Arts and Crafts Movement through bodies such as the Art Workers' Guild and the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. Whall was actively involved in these two organizations for thirty years and was an influential spokesman for the medium of stained glass.[1]

Indeed, through James Powell and Sons he was to exhibit at that Society's exhibitions at the New Gallery in 1888 and 1889.[5] The architects with whom he was to work at Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Street, John Dando Sedding and Henry Wilson[nb 1] were also prominent within the Movement.[3] It was John Dando Sedding who was to give Whall his first independent commission, for the Lady Chapel East window of St Mary's church in Stamford, Lincolnshire, which he completed in 1891.[6]

Whall’s participation in the early activities of the Arts and Crafts Movement came soon after a life-changing event that had taken place in 1887. In that year he had converted the cow-shed at his cottage in Dorking into a workshop, where he set about learning all the processes of the craft: cutting, painting, firing and glazing, so that, in future, no part of the making of his windows would be beyond his control. This was a direct protest against the division of labour, then almost universally prevalent among commercial manufacturers, which Whall and others saw as incompatible with the production of stained glass as an art rather than simply a trade.[3][6][7] During his time at Dorking, Whall was assisted by Louis Davis and Reginald Hallward, both of whom were to have distinguished careers as stained glass artists.[2][3][6]

Whall's artistic style included using images from nature, a wide range of glass colours and textures, and new glass materials. Whall's application of white glass for his windows was unique for the time period. He was one of the earliest Arts and Crafts Movement stained glass artists to include slab glass in his work. Whall's work was considered groundbreaking in his use of Prior's "Early English" glass. The east window he created for St. Mary's Stamford was the first large stained glass window to contain the new material.[1]

"Playful Angels" window (1899), St. Andrew, Farnham, Surrey

For the decade after the Whalls left Dorking in 1896 he had no premises of his own for firing and glazing his stained glass, and during this period he worked closely with the firm of Lowndes and Drury and it was in their workshops that all his windows were fabricated between 1897 and 1906 (either at Park Walk in Chelsea or at Lettice Street). Lowndes and Drury was founded in 1897 by the artist Mary Lowndes,[nb 2] and Alfred John Drury with the aim of providing independent designer- craft workers with the necessary facilities to carry out their stained glass commissions.[3][6]

At various times, particularly in the 1880s and 1890s, Whall was commissioned to design windows by James Powell and Sons. During this time period, Whall created stained glass windows for churches in London, throughout England, and Wales. (See List of works by Christopher Whall)[2][6]

Christopher Whall and students at the Royal College of Art, 1902

The Central School of Art and Crafts was founded by the London County Council in 1896. Whall was hired by the school's directors, George Frampton and William Lethaby, to be among the eleven teachers at the school. He taught the craft of stained glass. Students taking Whall's class were a wide assortment of ages, backgrounds and level of experience. During the first school year, Whall taught his classes alone, but by 1897 he had hired Alfred Drury, an experienced glazer to teach the crafts of leading and glazing. Whall's method of teaching, which he called the "Ruskin method", taught students to combine close observations and detailed workmanship along with more traditional artistic skills. He encouraged students by giving them small tasks to perfect before working up to large, more complex work. Whall was a gifted communicator and a popular teacher.[1]

Whall resigned from his teaching position in 1905, but continued to work with the stained glass classes in an informal supervisory role. His successor at the school was Karl Parsons, former student and studio—assistant, and a strong follower of Whall's teachings.[1]

Whall also taught at the Royal College of Art, informally from 1897, with the assistance of Alfred Drury to a formal teaching position at the school in 1901. A kiln was not available at during Whall's time at the school, and the firing of students' glass painting was done at Lowndes and Drury studio. Whall taught at the school until 1909.[1]

Stained Glass Work manual c 1905

Whall's experienced his work as a stained glass artist and teacher as a vocation. While an instructor at the Central School of Art and Crafts, Whall was encouraged by school director, William Lethaby to write an instructional book about his craft. The book, Stained Glass Work, was published in London by John Hogg in 1905. Whall's manual, was part of a series of books, which included the following manuals: lettering by Edward Johnston, silverwork by Henry Wilson, bookbinding by Douglas Cockerell and wood-carving by George Jack. This series has been almost in continuous print since the early 1900s, and continues to be influential today.[8][1]

Ravenscourt Park studio workshop, c 1910

In 1907, Whall decided to establish his own studio-workshop and took over the building at 1 Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith. The site, was formerly used by his friend Charles Spooner, the architect, as a furniture making workshop. Whall hired Spooner to convert the upper floor and attic into a large studio with several large windows for cartooning and glass-painting, and the ground floor into a glazing workshop and kiln room. The building was used by Whall and his apprentices during 1907-1908, but the conversion was not fully completed until 1909. Whall's studio included innovative labor-saving device, including "an improved tray for loading painted glass into the kiln and an easily movable glass-painting easel".[3][1]

Whall's studio-workshops were always collaborative in nature. Whall fostered an environment where experimenting and continually learning was key, even for the instructor. He stocked the workshop with plants, insects, and items from nature for inspiration for colour and design.[1]

By the early 1920s, Whall was suffering from the early stages of leukemia. He handed over the management of his studio to stained glass designer and former pupil, Edward Woore. Despite his illness, Whall continued to design and do some glass-painting, using a specially constructed adjustable chair.[1]

In 1922, at the age of 73, Whall created the firm of Whall & Whall LImited, naming himself and his daughter Vernonica as co-directors. Veronica Whall was a skilled stained glass artist and craftsman and created a number of stained glass works under the firm's name.[1]

Whall's health continued to decline and he died on 23 December 1924, at the age of 75. Whall & Whall, under the management of Veronica Whall continued on long after her father's death.[3]

Although there is no record of Whall having undertaken commissions in Ireland, except for Loughrea Cathedral, it does seem that he can be linked to the early 20th century stained glass revival in that country. The artist Wilhelmina Geddes was certainly influenced by Whall. Geddes was the artist who created the work "The Crucifixion" in St Luke’s Church in Wallsend.[nb 3][3]

It was in September 1901 that Alfred E. Child arrived in Dublin to take up the post of Instructor in Stained Glass at the newly reorganised Dublin Metropolitan School of Art and it seems that Whall was one of those who were behind this appointment along with the painter Sarah Purser, the poet W. B. Yeats and Edward Martyn the art critic.[nb 4] Child had been trained by Whall and would try to bring Whall’s principles to a new generation of Irish artists. Child and his artist friends aimed to set up a workshop similar to that formed by Mary Lowndes and Alfred Drury in London and in 1903 Sarah Purser set up "The Tower of Glass" (in Gaelic "An Túr Gloine").[3][6]

Somewhat further afield, it was Ralph Adams Cram, the architect, who introduced Whall’s work to the United States in the period 1906-1910, this at All Saints Ashmont, Boston[9] and Boston’s Church of the Advent. For the Church of the Advent, Whall completed five windows depicting the five regions of the early church, starting with the first window on the East end of the South Nave wall with St. Ignatius of Antioch representing the Syrian Church and West of that St.Athanasius representing the African Church. On the North side starting at the West end is St. Ambrose of Milan for the Latin Church, then St. Chrysostom for the Greek Church and finally St. Columba, symbolising the Celtic Church.[10]