Vera Schuster et al. "The Pre-Raphaelites in Oxford." Oxford Art Journal, 1 (1978): 7-14.

https://doi.org/10.1093/OXARTJ/1.1.7.

T h e Pre-Raphaelites in Oxford

VERA SCHUSTER

"Wherever you can rest, there decorate -

where rest is forbidden, so is beauty." !
-John Ruskin, Seven Lamps of Architecture.
During the second half of the nineteenth century,
most of the Pre-Raphaelite artists had connections
with Oxford at one time or another. Although
Oxford can make no claim to having played a fund-
mental part in the foundation of the original Pre-
1
Raphaelite Brotherhood, it nevertheless exerted a
significant influence on the protagonists of the new
movement.

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Both Millais and Holman Hunt had close friend-
ships with two important local Oxford men,
Mr Drury of Shotover Park, and Thomas Combe,
printer to Oxford University Press, supporter of the
Tractarians and financer of St Barnabas Church.
Rossetti, through his warm admiration of Benjamin
Woodward's architectural style, became interested
in the new buildings at the Univemity Museum and
the Union Society; whilst John Ruskin, the first, I
,
most ardent and eloquent champion of the Pre-
Raphaelite cause, had not only been an under-grad- 1
uate at Oxford, but had also had life-low associations 1
with the ~niv&sity.As Oxford's first ~ l & eProfes-
sor of Fine Arts, (a post which he held for fifteen
years), and because of his strong belief that his I
pupils should exercise their hands as well as their
minds, he established his Drawing School in the t
Ashmolean Building. To this, he gave a large collec-
tion of drawings which are today incorporated with I
the Museum's other collections of drawings in the
t
BuuneJwiet. An illusitairon to Lire Siovy uj Cuauf m d Yryrnr
Print Room. Ruskin's collection consists of nearly $-om WIUiam Momi's 'Earthly Par&'1865. /Ram Rwkin's
300 of his own drawings and also includes Edward 'Educntional&tiescr: A~hmdcrmj.
BurneJones's series of 47 drawings illustrating the except where it touched the railway, the city ended
story of 'Cupid and Psyche', made originally for a abruptly, as if a wall had been about it, and you
projected edition of William Morris's poem 'The
Earthly Paradise' of 1868-70.The influence of
came suddenly upon the meadows .. . It was an
endless delight to us to wander about the streets,
Ruskin's architectural theories is to be seen not where were still many old houses with wood-
only in most of the buildings designed for the carvings and a little sculpture here and there". A
University by Butterfield and Woodward but also in year later, in 1854, BurneJones, returning through
large areas of North Oxford which are filled with Port Meadow from an outing to Godstow, claimed
large and solid RuskhiamGothic houses. that he had had a vision of the Middle Ages. "I
Another most important Pre-Raphaelite associa- came back in a delirium of joy", he wrote. "In my
tion with Oxford is that of William Morris and Ed- mind, pictures of the old days, the abbey, the long
ward BurneJones. It was in Oxford that Morris and processions of the faithful, banners of the cross,
BurneJones, who were to carry on the spirit of the copes and croziers, gay knights and ladies by the
original movement, first met and began a friendship river bank, hawking parties and all the pageantry of
that was to last a lifetime. In 1853, Moms and the golden age - it made me feel so wild and mad
BurneJones moved into their rooms in Exeter I had to throw stones into the water to break the
College, intending to take their degrees and then dream". The two young men's enthusiasm for the
enter into a theological and religious life. At this city and its surrounding countryside was in no way
time, according to Matthew Arnold, "Oxford still matched by an equal enthusiasm for their fellow
breathed the last enchantments of the Middle Ages". students or the Dons of the University. The latter
Morris saw the city as "a vision of grey-roofed appeared to have none of the inter& and ideals
houses and a long winding street and the sound of held by Morris and BurneJones. "The place was
bells", whilst BurneJones wrote, "on all sides, languid and indifferent", wrote BurneJones,

- - - - - --
Rossetti's 'Dante drawing an Angel on the first Anniversary of the 'Homefrom the Sea'by Arthur Hughes oil 1856-62 [Ashmolean]
Death o f Beatrice '. Watercolour, 1853 [A shmolean] .

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"scarcely anything was left to show that i t had in the left-hand corner, with his wife standing
passed through such an exciting time as ended with behind him. Other important works in this rich
the secession of Newman . . . Before many weeks collection include Hunt's 'Converted British Family
had passed in our first term at Exeter, there were sheltering a Christian Priest', Collins's 'Convent
but three or four men in the whole college whom Thoughts' (about which it is said that each and
we visited or spoke to". Thus, thrown together every flower and leaf was painted directly from
through the unsympathetic views of their fellows, nature in Combe's own garden). Since 1894, many
the two men, along with a few like-minded Giends others have been added, but unfortunately due to
from Pembroke College who had been at school lack of space, not all of the works can be exhibited
with BurneJones, began studying on their own. at one time. However, some of the finest paintings
Together they explored and discovered the legacy may always be seen in the Museum. Amongst these,
of medieval culture, enthused about Malory's fine later additions are Arthur Hughes's 'Home from Sea',
legend of the 'Morte d'Arthur', Ruskin's 'Stones of Ford Madox Brown's 'The Pretty Baa-Lambs', a
Venice' and the poetry of Tennyson and Browning. pair of pictures by William Bell Scott depicting
By day, they scoured the countryside for village 'The Graves of Shelley and Keats in Rome',
churches with forgotten brasses, pored over the Calderon's 'Broken Vows', and other works by
illuminated manuscripts in the Bodleian Library; Hunt, Millais, Hughes and Collins. One can also see
by night, they sat intent whilst Morris chanted a panel of sixteen small tiles designed by Burne-
poetry of their past or present heroes and read Jones for his 'Briar Rose' series and painted by
from theological works, ecclesiastical history or Morris & Co., along with BurneJones's highly
archaeological books. coloured 'Building of the Bracen Towers'.
In 1854, Morris and BurneJones had both seen That first visit to Combe's collection, along with
Millais's 'Return of the Dove', on exhibition in a the influence of Rossetti, soon helped the two
shop in the High Street. Inspired by this work, they students t o give up their ideas about taking Holy
went to see the Combe collection. It was there that Orders, and by 1855, having become more and
they first saw a painting by Rossetti, his 'Dante more absorbed in art, Morris and BurneJones
Drawing an Angel on the Anniversary of Beatrice's decided to leave Oxford, the former to become an
Death'. This work filled them with "the greatest architect and the latter to be a painter. In London,
wonder and delight", as did many of the other BurneJones apprenticed himself to his great 'hero'
paintings they saw there. It is largely due to the Rossetti, whilst Moms articled himself to the
generosity of Combe's widow, who bequeathed architect G.E. Street, who was then practising in
the paintings in 1894, that the Ashmolean Museum Oxford. Rossetti had once said to Morris that "if
now possesses a truly marvellous collection of any man has poetry in him, he should paint it, for
Pre-Raphaelite works. Combe had bought works all has been said and written and they have scarcely
directly from the artists themselves and gave them begun to paint it". With this in mind, Morris stayed
not only financial aid, but also great moral support. with Street only nine months, by which time he
Both Millais and Holman Hunt (whose first version had decided to "turn painter". In London, Burne-
of 'The Light of the World' Combe bought, and Jones rapidly developed his talents as an artist, whilst
which now hangs in the specially-built side-chapel Morris struggled along at one of the few areas of art
of Keble College) were good friends with the Combes for which he had obviously no real aptitude. In
and the two men often stayed in Combe's house in June 1857, Rossetti wrote to William Bell Scott
the quadrangle of the Clarendon Press. Both Mr and describing how things stood with his two artistic
Mrs Combe appear in Holman Hunt's 'London prot6g6s: "Morris is busily painting his first picture,
Bridge on the Night of the Marriage of the Prince 'Tristram . . . ' from the 'Morte d'Arthur'. It is
and Princess of Wales, 10th March 1863', now in being done all from nature of course, and I believe
the Ashmolean. Combe is the man in the top hat it will turn out capitally. His chum Jones, who is by
far the more advanced of the two, is getting com- up, that the Union would pay the costs of the
missions at a fast rate and has done some wonder- artists' lodgings and their sustenance and they were
ful cartoons in colour for stainedglass". Both of to give their work free of charge. The work was
them, however, had soon to postpone their work in originally planned to take only six weeks, but in
hand for, as Rossetti wrote to a friend of his in the end it took far longer and was never finally
July 1857, he and two friends of his were "painting completed.
pictures nine feet high with life-sized figures . . . Although many painters of considerable repute
The work goes very fast and is the finest fun pos- were asked to join Rossetti in this work, including
sible". Rossetti, Morris and BurneJones had left Scott, Madox Brown, Millais and Hunt, the only
London temporarily and were happily engaged as well-known artist to join the group was Hughes,
mural painters. and as Rossetti noted, "with the exception of
A. Hughes and myself, those engaged upon the
The murals in question were those done for the murals have made there almost their debut as
Debating Hall (now the Old Library) of the newly- painters". These ddbutants included Hungerford
built Oxford Union in St Michael's Street. They Pollen (who designed the relief over the entrance
can still be seen there W a y , although they are in to the University Museum, which was carved by
fairly poor condition. The murals were first con- Woolner), Spencer Stanhope, Val Prinsep, Moms
ceived of in the summer of 1857, when Benjamin and BumeJones.
Woodward, who was working on the buildings for The areas to be covered in this octagonal-shaped
the University Museum and the Union Society, had Ruskinian-Gothic hall, were the ten large wall bays
discussed with Rossetti the possibility of decorating above the gallery, each of which contained two

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the gallery walls of the Union's New Debating Hall. six-foiled windows. According to various contem-
Rossetti, who had not been at all struck with Ben porary reports,the execution of the murals was
Woodward's first suggestion of 'Newton gathering carried out with much enthusiasm amidst great
pebbles on the shores of the Ocean of Truth', excitement. The Rev. W. Tuckwell, in his engaging
suggested that a more suitable theme for the walls 'Reminiscences of Oxford' notes the mood of
could be selected scenes from the 'Morte d'Arthur'. hilarity and high spirits in which the artists worked:
Once the authorisation was given, work went ahead. "A merry rollicking set they were: I was working
It was agreed, although no specification was drawn daily in the Library, which at that time opened

Interior of Union Debating Hall, from a contemporary wood-engraving of I85 7-1858. The room is seen before the murals were completed by
Rivikre with Morris's original design on the roo5 [Photograph: Dr C. Band, by kind permission o f the Oxford Union].

9
into the gallery of the new rooms, and I heard their the roof amid the long strings of green and gold
laughter and songs and jokes, and the volleys of leafage so reminiscent of his later designs for wall-
their soda-water corks, for this innutrient fluid was papers.
furnished to them without stint at the society's After March 1851, no further work was done on
expense, and bills from the Star Hotel close by the murals and three of the large wall panels still
amazed the treasurer!" One could not say, however, remained bare. Both Ruskin and the Union tried to
that the artists undertook their work lightly. On coerce Rossetti and Morris to complete the remain-
the contrary, they believed quite ardently in what ing three panels but nothing came of their attempts.
they were doing; indeed, their passionate enthus- In June 1869, therefore, the Union engaged William
iasm often led them into curious and amusing Rivihre, an art teacher in Oxford, to paint the three
$tuitions. Moms's obsession with accuracy of detail, remaining panels. Rivikre agreed, and engaged his
for example, led him to have a basinet and surcoat son Briton to help him. Together the executed
of fringed mail made up under his own direction by k
'The Education of Merlin', 'Arthur's edding, with
the Incident of the White Hart', and 'King Arthur's
a local blacksmith, so that the artists would have a
faithfully reproduced set of medieval armour on First Victory with the Sword'.
which t o base their paintings. The ensuing sequel, Unfortunately, the artists' creative enthusiasm for
however, was most entertaining, as Burne-Jones execulmg the murals was not matched by enthusi-
relates: "I was working high up on my picture", he asm for technical details. It soon transpired that the
wrote, "when I heard a strange bellowing in the walls had been still damp when painted on. No
building, and turning round to find the cause, saw ground had been laid on them apart from a thin
an unwonted sight. The basinet was being tried on, layer of whitewash, and such unsuitable methods

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but the visor, for some reason, would not lift, and I and materials had been employed in the exercise
saw Monis embedded in iron, dancing with rage that not only did the work take far longer than the
and roaring inside". Stories such as these were not intended six weeks, but hardly six months after
infrequent, and it is clear that everyone had a the first mural was completed, Bell Scott reported
creative and happy time. Yet, so far as the actual that there was little to be seen of Moms's picture
paintings were concerned, the episode was not such but the head of Tristram over a row of sunflowers.
a happy one. A few months later, Val Prinsep recorded that the
Rossetti chose as his subject 'Sir Launcelot cleaning of whitewash from the windows (which
prevented by his Sin from entering the Chapel of had originally been 'blocked in' in this manner to
the San Grail'. Jane Burden, later hilrs Moms, produce a more even illumination), had the immed-
modelled as Queen Guinevere, with Bume Jones as iate effect of making the murals "almost invisble".
Launcelot; but before he had finished it, Rossetti Due in part to dust and to the heat and smoke from
was called away to London because Lizzie Siddal, the gas chandeliers, the colour began gradually to
his mistress, was seriously ill, and he never resumed blacken and peel away, and the designs were fading
work on the murals. Rossetti had also designed so rapidly that in 1871 Rossetti said "the only
plans for two other murals, 'Launcelot found in remedy now is whitewash, and I shall be happy to
Guinevere's Chamber' and 'The Three Knlghts of hear of its application". Fortunately, the paintings
the San Grail', but these were never begun. Accord- were not obliterated; indeed, in 1875, Morris re-
ing to Morris, Hungerford Pollen's 'King Arthur decorated the ceiling, leaving only a floral pattern.
obtaining the Sword Excalibur from the Damsel of In 1935 restoration of the murals was commenced
the Lake' was never finished, and he also said that by Mr L. Mobley, under the skilled direction of
both Prinsep's 'Sir Pelleas leaving the Lady Ettarde', Professor Tristram. At a special unveiling ceremony
and Stanhope's 'Sir Gawain meeting the three in March 1936 to mark the restoration, Sir William
Ladies a t a Well' were incomplete "in some way". Rothenstein said ". . . a great inheritance, which
Hughes completed his solemn version of 'The Oxford had not deserved, had come back t o her".
Death of Arthur', whilst Bume Jones took as his Precisely why Oxford "had not deserved" this
theme 'Nimue luring Merlin to his Death' - a theme inheritance is not clear to me, but these albeit
he returned to more than once in his later works. terribly faded and badly-lit murals are nonetheless
If Rossetti's character was shown in his leaving his well worth a visit. The Oxford Union building is
share of the work unfinished, William Morris's tem- generally closed to non-members, but if one wishes
perament and enthusiasm were equally apparent. to see the murals, one need only ask the librarian.
His depiction of 'Sir Palomydes's Jealousy of Sir Unfortunately, despite restoration, they are visible
Tristram' was not only the first work to be finished only with difficulty under present hghting condit-
(and the first to begin to disappear !) but he also ions. The very best time to see them is during the
went on to decorate the cedmg and the rafters, winter months, when there is the minimum of
which were triumphantly successful. The profusion natural lighting, and the paintings are ar€ificially lit.
of sunflowers in the foreground of Morris's paint- Perhaps the colour is no longer "as sweet and
ing caused such general amusement that Rossetti bright and pure as that of the frailest waif of a
even went as far as suggesting that Morris help cloud in the sunrise" and the walls no longer re-
another painter out of difficulties by filling in the semble "the margins of a highly illuminated manu-
foreground of his bay with red runners ! The real script" but the "terrific atmosphere" remains.
success of his ceiling was unquestioned, however, Ten years after Morris's involvement in the Union
and considered as "a wonder of originality and murals, the firm of Morris, Marahall, Faulkner & Co
fitness". According t o Bume Jones, "all kinds of was established, whose work marked a new era in
quaint beasts and birds" appeared on the plaster of the world of decorative arts.The 'Firm', as it
10
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'The Adoration of the Mu@.',executed by Morris from a design by BurneJones. [By kind permission of Exeter College]

came to be known, undertook everything from latter, one has either to get permission from the
stained glass windows, chairs, cabinets and iron- college, or find a kind and willing Exeter student
wrought bedsteads to wallpapers, curtains and cur- who will claim the keys £rom the porter and will
tain rods, tiles and tapestries. Morris's designs for accompany one to the Morris rooms. It is well
wallpapers and tapestries recall the earlier work on worth the extra effort, however, because these two
the Union ceiling. He himself began weaving in smaller tapestries are quite as beautiful as the two
1877, experimenting with carpets and woven silks larger ones. In these four tapestries, as with most
and different weaving techniques and also with the other Morris tapestries, BurneJones designed the
manufacture and dyeing of suitable materials. figures and Morris the backgrounds.
Morris tended not to use large power looms partly 'The Adoration of the Magi' (or the 'Star of
because the quantity of weaving he did hardly Bethlehem' as it is sometimes called) was the first
warranted one, but above all because he felt they of the large-scale figure-subjects executed by
simplified the art of weaving to the extent of gross Morris & Co., and it has sometimes been referred
repetition and monotony. As far as tapestries were to as "sickly and unpleasant" or "without much
concerned, Morris did not regard them as suitable artistic merit". These criticisms seem to me to be
for repeating patterns since he considered tapestry neither justified nor true, as both works seem
as "the noblest of the weaving arb, in which there artistically wellexecuted and very pleasing to the
is nothing mechanical; it may be looked upon as a eye and mind. The tapestry depicts three strangely
mosaic of pieces of colour made up of dyed threads". attired visitors bearing their gifts to the newly born
The weaver himself must be an artist, he claimed, Holy Child who sits cradled in his mother's arms,
otherwise he could easily "turn out nothing but sheltered under a rough straw hut, with Joseph
bungles, disgraceful to everyone concerned in the standing by, holding a bundle of sticks for fire-
matter". Far from bungling his woven tapestries, wood. Between the Holy Family and the three
Morris himself became very competent, and his visitors floats a luminously bright and white angel
brilliant success in this field of the applied arts can holding a mystic star which has guided them "to the
be seen in four tapestries which hang in Oxford: place where Jesus lay". All the f i i e s are life-size
The 'Romance of the Rose' in Rhodes House, the and their facial expressions are most admirably and
'Adoration of the Magi' in Exeter Chapel and the delicately depicted. The intricate and extraordinary
two smaller tapestries 'Pomona' and 'Flora' in the apparel of the three wise men is beautifully woven in
Morris Room in Exeter College. In order t o see the a variety of rich colours and is strongle contrasted
with the very simple clothing of the Holy Family. Betwixt the blossom and the bough.
creating a marvellously mysterious and powerfully Ah, where's the river's hidden Gold !
involving atmosphere. The figures stand on, and are And where the windy grave of Troy ?
surrounded by, a wealth of flowers -white lilies, red Yet came I as I came of old,
and pink roses and columbines, scarlet poppies, From out of the heart of Summer's Joy".
blue irises - and a variety of green foliage. This
truly exquisite background was only very vaguely Since the "heart of the summer" of 1857 Burne-
indicated in BumeJones's original design - the Jones had been painting, drawing, and working on
enormous watercolour study of which is in the designs for stained-glass windows, yet little of his
Birmingham Art Gallery. The real inventiveness and pmgle-handed work is to be found in Oxford. Apart
beauty of detail was worked out with hundreds of from his three works in the Ashmolean, the 'Head
coloured threads by Morris and his assistants. Studies' in the Morris rooms at Exeter, in St. Hugh's
Mackail in his biography of Morris tells us that and in New College, there is his very charming little
"Morris would often return to his home in triptych with scenes from the 'Nativity' which hangs
Hammersmith with his arms full of flowers and in Lady Margaret Hall, and a cartoon of 'Mary
wondered why the business men and clerks in the Magdalene annointing Christ's feet' in Magdalen
underground found i t so amusing ! " The set of Chapel. The greatest memorial BurneJones left to
woven woollen hangings at the east end of Exeter Oxford is his stained-glass windows executed by
chapel are of the 'Bird' pattern that Morris designed Morris and Company. The three principal buildings
in 1878 for his own house, Kelrnscott Manor, some in Oxford enriched by Pre-Raphaelite s t a i n e d - g h
twenty-five miles West of Oxford. The results of windows are St Edmund Hall Chapel, Christ

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Morris's love and close study of nature are clear for Chrch M (+mhl and Mmchester College Chapel.
all to see, not only in the 'Adoration of the Magi', The East window in St Edmund Hall Chapel
but a h in the two tapestries in the Morris was the first work undertaken in Oxford by the
Room and in the one in Rhodes House. The latter partnership of ~ ~ e J o n with e s William M~rris's
depicts a scene from the medieval epic poem the firm.I t was made in 1865 by Morris to designs by
'Roman de la Rose' in which the hero tells of his BurneJones, Philip Webb and Morris himself, and
dreams where he is admitted into the Garden of displays the characteristics of the firm's early work,
Love by Oiseuse and where he falls in love with as it does not have the wealth of bright colours so
the Rose, symbol of the Lady and the Lady's love. noticeable in l a w works. The lack of b m t , strong
Burne Jones's designs show the lover clad in long ~010ur a most f o r t ~ n a kone in this Case, as the
blue and red robes inside the fenced garden. He window in no way disturbs the ageless tranquillity
gazes longingly and lovingly at a r w briar amidst of this almost entirely unadorned little chapel. The
which one single rose is revealed in all i t , pale pink figures in the central CruciFiion scene and those
beauty in the form of a young woman's face with in the surrounding vignettes are typical of Burne-
the most delicate features and long soft tresses. Jones in their serene simplicity and gravity of
Morris filled in the background of ~e garden with expression. For this window BurneJones had also
masses of greenery interspersed with pink and red indicated the lead lines in his cartoon, but this
tulips and other spring flowers. In this tapestry, the practice was later abandoned, and then not only
background design is perhaps a little too realistic for was this very important feature left for Morris to
the romantic fairyae-like nature of the scene, and execute, but also much of the C O ~ O U choice was
it appears to be of only secondary importance in left to him and his fellow workmen.
the tapestry. 'Flora' and 'Pomona' succeed as tapes- A greater variety of BurneJones windows can
tries precisely because the background dominates. be seen in Christ Church Cathedral. The Victorian
They are essentially a pure 'Morris invention' even Gothic revival in architecture naturally led to
though Burne J o n e s designed the two lovely, tall renewed demand for stained-glass making - a long-
and willowy Pre-Raphaelite girls with their long forgotkn medieval practice. However, many of the
pale faces and Botticelli-like flowing robes. The early nineteenthcentury attempts at rediscovering
luxuriant vegetation of swirling green acanthus and re-creating this art resulted in extremely brilli-
leaves, yellow daisies, white lilies, blue and mauve ant - in&ed often lurid - colouring, and it was
fox-gloves, and pink and red carnations ( t o name some time before medieval techniques were again
but a few of the flowers), which Moms used as the ~ ~ d e r s t o oOne
d . example of the early attempt at
setting for his two figures, not only enhances them stainedd@s whdows is to be found in the Eht
by creating a tremendous whirl of contrasted end of the Latin Chapel at Chist Church. This
colours and textures, but a h adds a certain poetic window is filled with brightly coloured scenes from
richness to f i e tapestries. For many of his creations the life of Saint fideswide, the patron saint of
Moms wrote delightful verses which he would often Oxford. In the tracery above the window, one sees
weave into the borders in Gothic characters. For the Tree of Life and Knowledge, and a ship of
'Pomona9 who stands in the midst of a garden hold- souls conveyed by angels. Commissioned in 1869,
ing a branch of an apple tree in her left hand, with the s t a ~ w o r kwas designed by hksp~.sD a n e and
apples gathered in the skirt of her long robes, he Woodward, architects of the University Museum, and
wrote: carved by O'Shea. The cartoons for the glass paint-
ings were drawn by BurneJones and were executed
"I am the ancient Apple Queen, by Messrs Powell of White£riars, London. This very
As once I was so am I now. brilliant multicoloured window is an extremely
For evermore a Hope unseen, elaborate work, displaying sixteen scenes which
12
 end of the South aisle made in 1870, portraying
the three cardinal Christian virtues: Hope, Faith
and Charity. Compared to these richly coloured
animated figures, those in the Vyner Memorial
window in the East end of the Lady Chapel, with
their pale swirling drapery, appear somewhat
tranced and stylized, dependent on their soft
yellow and green background for life. The Saint
Cecilia window, built two or three years later in
18741875, is a strilting example of BurneJones's
ability to create a delicately beautiful masterpiece
by using simple, rather languid figures with very
complicated pale cream drapery, emphasised by the
quiet tones of green, gold and blue. The Saint
Catherine window at the East end of the South
aisle, built in 1876 in memory of Edith Liddell, has
the same delicate beauty as the lovely Saint Cecilia
window, but here the Angels of Sufferance and
Deliverance, with their tremendous blue wing^, help
create an atmosphere of movement and life.
The windows in Manchester College are executed

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in the firm's late and most mannered style. Installed
in the late 1890s (long after Morris had ceased to
take any more orders except for modem edifices),
the windows on the East side depict figures typify-
ing Truth, Liberty and Religion, with an angel in
each of the side-lights and representations of five
scenes from the life of Chriet below. The windows
on the South side depict a series of symbolic
figures, each with a relevant test of the scriptures
beneath. Those in the North wall represent the
Days of Creation with the words "Enlargisaez Dieu"
incorporated in every scene. Each Day is represent+
ed by a different angel, holding a globe in its hand
in which appears a vision of the day's new creation.
In the sixth window, besides the creation of Man,
the angel of the day of rest is represented reclining
among the flowers, playing a &ringed instrument.
Compared with any of the other Burnedones and
77te Saint Catherine Wfn&w, de#ip?dby Bume4mtu, excarted by Morris windows, those in Manchester College
M o d and Co. /l%e Dean and C%aptcr, Chrirt Clh~mh] impress by their strident vividness, rather fhan by
contain over two hundred figures. Due to the fact any formal inventiveness. The great foliage which
that BurneJones was given the wrong measure- aerves as a background to the figures in the South
ments for the size of the window the overall effect window is rather routine if not monotonous, but
is cramped and forcibly overcrowded, and it is thus the reds and scarlets of the angel's robes in the
extremely difficult to di&b@& the separate North window are glorious, and in these stained-
incidents represented in the various compartments. glass windows the wealth of detail is quite tremen-
The other four windows in the cathedral were dous. By the time that the East window wm com-
all made by Morris and date from the time of pleted in 1896, William Morris had died, and was
Gilbert Scott's restoration of the Cathedral in the followed two years later by Sir Edward BurneJones.
1870s. At this period, having experimented with For the Pre-Raphaelite movement as a whole,
different techniques of dyeing, staining and paint- Oxford proved to be a major centre of activity,
ing glass with a variety of colours and different inspiration and patronage. All over the city many
materials,both Morris and BurneJones were at the examples of their works are to be found - even in
height of their powers, at least as far as stained- the most unexpected corners. It seems appropriate
glass windows were concerned. Indeed, these four that this town,whose manifold beauties and
windows are some of the finest they ever produced medieval atmosphere had so appealed to William
using the techniques of medieval times. The earliest Morris and BurneJones should be enriched by the
and the richest in colour is the window at the West glowing splendour of their work.
 BLENHEIM
PALACE
WOODSTOCK OXFORDSHIRE

Homeof the Eleventh Duke of

Marlborough

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Birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill
OPEN DAILY U.3Oam-5pm
20 MARCH - XOCTOBER

Churchill Exhibition, and in association with Hallmark Cards Inc

Greetings from SirWinston' a unique display of antique greeting caAs
b

The Gift Shop open daily(tel.Woodstock 811752)

Blenheim Garden Centre open daily 9am-5pm (tel.Woodstodt812007)
Terrace Restaurant(bookings te1.Oxford47421). Narrow Gauge Steam
Railway. The Walled Garden. Boat trips on Blenheim Lake.
Coach Parties welcome, special rates apply, no need to book. For full
details write or telephone :The Administrator, Blenheim Palace
Woodstock,Ox ford OX 7 IPX .Telephone ~ o o d s t o c k811325

THE RIGHT TO CLOSE THE PARK & PALACE WITHOUT NOTICE IS RESERVED