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This is the most recent
addition to the main structure of the church. It
was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and opened
in 1925 as a memorial to old boys of Downside School
(known as Old Gregorians) who lost their lives in
the First World War. Their names are recorded on
memorial tablets at the west end of the church.
While the detail of the
stonework reflects many of the characteristic features
of Sir Giles' pointed architecture, most notably
the Anglican cathedral in Liverpool, the main lines
of the nave and its vertical proportions were dictated
by the earlier work of Dunn and Hansom, whose ribbed
vault and "thirteenth century" arrangement
of the blind and clear storeys (triforium and clerestory)
already ran into one bay of a projected nave.
The whole body of the
Church is dominated by the Great East Window. This
was another of the works of Sir Ninian Comper at
Downside and was installed in 1936. The limpid colours
of the glass are typical of Comper’s work. The window
depicts Christ in glory at the second coming to judge
the world. He is surrounded by saints who stand on
branches of a vine springing from the ‘root of Jesse’
who can be seen sleeping at the bottom of the window
behind the stone gallery. This is modelled on the
idea of Jesse Windows and screens that were common
in the Middle Ages. |
