W. T. Carter Shapland

W. T. Carter Shapland (3 February 1925 – 22 December 1972) was a British stained glass artist and master glassmaker. A leading proponent of post-war trends in British stained glass, Shapland's independent work typified the figurative modernism and optimistic aesthetic associated with the Festival of Britain style, later moving towards architectural abstraction through his use of the dalle de verre technique. Examples of Shapland's work can be found across the south east of England, primarily in Church of England churches, though he also won commissions from across the UK and internationally.

Early Life and career William Thomas Carter Shapland, known to his family as 'Tom', was born into a Devon farming family and raised at Sauls Farmhouse, Wembworthy. His rural upbringing informed his professional identity; he viewed his craft as a form of honest labour, akin to the farming traditions in which he was raised.

Sometime after end of the Second World War, having completed his apprenticeship at Whippell, Shapland moved to Brighton to take up an appointment as designer for the firm of Barton, Kinder and Alderson. Following the destruction of the Blitz, this was a productive period for British stained glass manufacturers given the widespread programme of church restoration that was underway, particularly in the south east of England. As a result, there was no shortage of commissions for Shapland to work on. His talent was recognised by the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass when he won prizes recognising young talent in the British glassmaking industry in both 1951 and 1953. While still traditional in technique, its style is identifiably modern. Shapland's chosen rebus, a stylised ploughshare piercing a disk, can be seen in the lower lefthand corner, above the date 1953.

Evolution of style and technique

Despite his relatively short career, Shapland's style and technique developed markedly over time. By the early 1960s his designs, while still figurative, began to take on a more geometric and linear form. Evidence for this can be seen in the figures in Shapland's 1960 window for New Church of St Mary in Stoke Newington. The lower sections of the window are particularly distinctive, depicting ephemera associated with science, engineering, and technology, including fossils, constellations, scientific instruments, chemical elements, a steam engine, nuclear reactor and the Jodrell Bank telescope.

Shapland's commission for the Great West Window of Chester Cathedral was among his most important, both in terms of prominence and the evolution of his style. Unveiled in 1961, it depicts the Holy Family with the northern saints Werburgh, Oswald, Aidan, Chad, Wilfrid, and Ethelfleda across the lower eight lights. While traditional in its iconography, Shapland departed from his prior practice of leaving large areas of a window clear-glazed, resulting in an intensity of colour previously unseen in his works, enhanced by the monumentality of the window itself.

Similar in style is Shapland's east window for the Church of St George in Coundon, Coventry, this time in the more modern setting of Nugent Cachemaille-Day's modern brick-built building. Dedicated in 1965, the window takes the theme of the Redemption of Mankind, with the Risen Christ triumphant in the centre light.

Late works

In the mid-1960s Shapland began to experiment with the dalle de verre technique that had been introduced to the United Kingdom from France by Pierre Fourmaintraux. While Shapland never fully redirected his output to this method in the manner of its greatest proponent in the UK, Dom Charles Norris, he thought the technique to be particularly suited to commissions for newly built churches in which his glass would be structurally integral to the architecture of the building. At St Laurence in Catford there is also an illuminated Greek Cross positioned on the east wall behind the main altar. Made from shards of thick glass embedded end-on into the cruciform-shaped frame, while its maker is not definitively confirmed, the material and colours correspond closely to Shapland's other works in the church and it may also be attributable to him.

Among Shapland's final works was a window for his local church, St Matthew in Surbiton. A triple window, is depicts a uniformed nurse of Surbiton hospital in the left light, with Jesus performing the miracle of feeding the multitude to the centre. It was dedicated in 1970 in memory of Bobs and Marjorie Capcorn.

Death On 22 December 1972, Shapland suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 47, his premature death cutting short a career in full flow. West window - Seven panels showing Christ on the Cross with the Virgin Mary and saints Alban, John the Divine and Andrew (1953) St George's Church, Battersea Five reset panels from previous church - scenes from The Pilgrim's Progress, Christ and saints (1956) St Peter's Church, Kington Langley South nave - Healing of the centurion's servant (1957) Holy Trinity Church, Eltham Gallipoli chapel - Chris in Majesty with the Virgin Mary and St Agnes (1957) South aisle - St Catherine and St Cecilia (1959) Peterborough Cathedral Baptistry - 11 panels depicting scenes from the Life of Christ (1958) St John the Baptist's Church, Southend, Catford South chapel - Visitation, Baptism, Beheading of St John the Baptist (1958) St Nicholas' Church, Codsall South aisle - Confirmation, Jacob blessing (1958) Church of the Ascension, Wembley South chapel - four abstract panels (1959) North east chapel - St Michael defeating the Devil (1959) North west chapel - St Anselm (c.1961) St John the Divine's Church, Kennington Apse windows - Three two-light windows with scenes from the Life of Christ and the Book of Revelation (1959) South-east chapel - Christ is revealed in Glory (1962) St Mary's Church, Compton Abbas West window - Ascension (1959) St Michael and All Angels' Church, Beddington South aisle - Nativity, Christ in the House of Mary and Martha, Mocking of Christ, Christ in Majesty (1959) St John the Evangelist's Church, Elkstone West window - six scenes depicting local worthies (1959) South chancel - John the Baptist (1959) St Mary's Church, Stoke Newington West window - Apostles with holy sacraments (1960) North aisle - St George (1960) South aisle - Abstract on theme of Holy Trinity (1963) All Saints' Church, Warlingham South aisle - Holy Family (1960) Chester Cathedral North nave - three reset panels from previous church, St Martin, St George, Madonna and Child, Samuel (1964) St George's Church, Coundon, Coventry Nave - two dalle de verre windows with abstract design (1966) St Lawrence's Church, Catford South nave - Annunciation (1969) South nave - St Luke the Evangelist (1972) St Mary's Church, Merton North chapel - Annunciation (1970) Christ's Chapel of Alleyns College of God's Gift, Dulwich North nave - Instruments of the Passion (1970) St Matthew's Church, Surbiton South aisle - Feeding the multitude (1970)

Gallery