Leonard Evetts

Leonard Evetts (12 January 1909 – 21 September 1997) was a British stained glass artist, designer, and calligrapher whose ecclesiastical art can be found in churches across the UK, particularly in north east England. Over a career spanning more than 60 years, Evetts produced more than 400 stained glass windows, including works for Durham Cathedral and Newcastle Cathedral.

Early life and education Leonard Charles Evetts was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales on 12 January 1909. He began his working life assisting his father in signwriting and lettering, rather than following a conventional academic route into art. This early training provided him with a grounding in craftsmanship that informed his later work. These skills subsequently won Evetts a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London, where he studied stained glass design and manufacture under Martin Travers. At the RCA Evetts also developed his skills in calligraphy. This combination of practical and academic training shaped his approach to design, particularly his emphasis on structure and line.

Career Evetts’s professional career was closely linked to art education. In 1933 he was appointed to the staff of Edinburgh College of Art and moved to Scotland. His stay in Edinburgh lasted only until 1937, when he accepted a teaching position at the newly formed King’s College, Newcastle. The move was a defining one for Evetts. He would remain in the area for the rest of his life, an adopted home with which he would become closely associated. Before establishing himself primarily as a stained glass artist, Evetts gained early recognition as a calligrapher. His 1938 publication Roman Lettering established his reputation as an authority on letterform. This expertise informed much of his later output, including his stained glass, where linear composition and inscriptional elements played a significant role.

In addition to stained glass, Evetts worked throughout his career across a wide range of media, including Watercolor painting, Metalworking, textiles, and commercial design. His versatility reflected a broader identity as a multidisciplinary artist. Evetts was also active in the conservation and oversight of church art. He served as vice chairman of the Council for the Care of Churches from 1972 to 1981 and advised on numerous ecclesiastical projects.

At Durham Cathedral, Evetts’ Stella Maris window in the Galilee Chapel was dedicated in 1993 as part of the cathedral’s 900th anniversary celebrations. It is a late work: Evetts was 83 when it was installed. Rich in iconographic detail, the two-part composition juxtaposes the Virgin Mary, under the “Star of the Sea”, with scenes from Christ’s ministry in Galilee, unified by a flowing representation of water linking the lights and symbolising both geography and theology.

The largest single collection of Evetts's work in stained glass is found at the Church of St Nicholas, Bishopwearmouth, in Sunderland. Over a period of 40 years, he provided a complete glazing scheme comprising 46 individual windows, with designs ranging from biblical themes, the lives of saints and Christian iconography, and pure abstraction. Installed between 1958 and 1998 they evidence the evolution of Evetts's style and practice during the course of his long career.

Among Evetts's other works are windows for both St Paul's Church, Jarrow and St Peter's Church, Monkwearmouth, the two successor churches to the early medieval Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey, one of Northumbria’s most influential monastic centres. At Jarrow, Evetts created a new east chancel window to replace glass lost during the Second World War, which was installed in 1951. At Monkwearmouth, stained glass by Evetts can be seen in both the east chancel window and north aisle. Installed in 1969, the windows depict northern saints associated with the monastery.

One of Evetts's largest single works was installed at St Agatha's Church, Sparkbrook in Birmingham in 1961, again replacing glass lost during Second World War bombing. The seven-light east chancel window depicts Jesus enthroned in Heaven surrounded by a multitude of saints and angels. In the lower righthand corner St Agatha is seen kneeling in prayer below the text and I fell at his feet and worshipped him.

Style and practice Evetts undertook all aspects of stained glass production himself, from design through to painting and fabrication of his windows. This required a high level of technical as well as artistic proficiency. His designs for glass – which generally combined bold colour and strong linear frameworks – were normally conceived in relation to their specific architectural settings and often form integrated visual schemes within a church. Evetts sort to emphasise the role of light within space, rejecting the heavier qualities associated with 19th century Gothic Revival glass in favour of a more luminous treatment that allowed natural light to animate the design and light the building within. Lady Chapel – Porter memorial window (1969)

Durham Cathedral Galilee Chapel – Stella Maris window (1993)