Clayton and Bell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clayton and Bell was one of the most successful firms of English stained glass manufacturers during the latter half of the 19th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (-) and Alfred Bell (-). It is said of them that “………..” Their commercial success was due to the high demand for stained glass windows at the time, their use of the best quality glass available, the excellence of their designs and their employment of efficient factory methods of production.
Background
During the Medieval period, from the Norman conquest of England in 1066 until the 1530s, much stained glass was produced and installed in churches, monasteries and cathedrals. Two historic events had brought an end to this and the destruction of most of the glass- the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII and the Puritan era under Oliver Cromwell in the 1600s.
The early 19th century was marked by a renewal of the Christian faith, a growth of Roman Catholicism, a planting of new churches , particularly in new centres of industrial growth and the restoration of many ancient churches and cathedrals. Leaders in the movement to build new churches and cathedrals were Augustus Welby Pugin, Sir George Gilbert Scott and John. L. Pearson.
History
In the 1850s a number of young designers worked in conjunction with these architects in the provision of stained glass for new churches and for the restoration of old. These craftsmen included John Richard Clayton, Alfred Bell, Nathaniel Lavers, Francis Barraud, Nathaniel Westlake, Clement Heaton, James Butler and Robert Bayne. These eight worked in a number of combinations, Alfred Bell initially working at G.S. Scott’s architectural practice in the 1840s, then forming a partnership with Nathaniel Lavers.
In 1855 two partnerships were formed, those of Clayton and Bell, and Heaton and Butler. Robert Bayne was initially employed by Clayton and Bell as a designer but then joined Heaton and Butler which became Heaton, Butler and Bayne. The third partnership became Lavers, Barraud and Westlake in 1860.
Clayton and Bell shared studios with Heaton, Butler and Bayne between 1859 and 1862 so that there was a good deal of interaction and influence between the two firms. The windows of both firms share several distinguishing features and characteristic colour-combinations which are uncommon in all other designers.
Clayton and Bell commenced business in 1855 and soon became one of England's most successful producers of stained glass windows.
Although they came on the scene comparatively late, compared with John Hardman and Co., William Wailes and James Powell and Sons, it was Clayton and Bell who received the Victorian Era's first commission for an entire set (or cycle) of stained glass windows. These were for the newly-built Great Hall of Sydney University, modelled by the Colonial Architect, Edmund Blacket, on the Great Hall of Westminster.
