Page 14 - October 24

A Visit to Temple Balsall

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On 19 August a group from Hampton-in-Arden Local History
Group visited Temple Balsall and were given a guided tour of
the site by Marion Keeley of Berkswell & District History Group.
The visit was arranged by our group member, Joan Felix-
Davies. A�er tea and biscuits in the Old Hall we were shown
around the church and saw Lady Katherine Leveson’s alms
houses, Temple House and the walled garden.
In the Old Hall we were interested to see a print of a
watercolour showing the interior of the hall, c. 1850. We
thought it might have been by Allen Edward Everi�, the subject
of an ar�cle in May’s Chronicle; and so it proved to be.
Originally part of the collec�on of the Earl of Aylesford, the
original was now in the hands of Birmingham Museum and Art
Gallery, along with many other works by Everi�, including
Interior of the Old Hall, Temple Balsall, several of Hampton-in-Arden Parish Church. The curators at
c. 1850
BMAG have agreed to have the Everi� collec�on professionally
photographed, a development of great interest to historians of both Temple Balsall and Hampton.
Another item that turned out to be of par�cular interest to the
visitors from Hampton-in-Arden was the large East Window in
the church. It had originally been intended to be a memorial to
Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 but was not
completed un�l 1907. This was only three years a�er the
installa�on of the ‘Poets’ window above the altar in Hampton
Church. We thought it likely that works of this quality and on
this scale might well have been by the same manufacturer.
Inves�ga�ons were made and it was discovered that both
windows were made by James Powell & Sons of London. The
company’s order book has survived and gives details of both
windows, including the names of the ar�sts who designed the
stained glass.

The Temple Balsall window was designed by Aikman and Read.
Knights Templar and Hospitaller. Detail
William Aikman (1868 – 1959) was an Edinburgh-born stained
from the East Window, St. Mary the
glass ar�st who moved to London to work for James Powell &
Virgin, Temple Balsall.
Sons in 1892. He later taught at Camberwell School of Art and
was a founder member of the Bri�sh Society of Master Glass Painters in 1921. The ar�st named
“Read” appears to have done a great deal of work for James Powell & Sons but so far no biographical
informa�on has come to light.
The East Window of Hampton-in-Arden Parish Church and the ar�st who designed it will be the
subject of an ar�cle in a future issue of the Chronicle.
Clive Hinsull
Secretary, Hampton-in-Arden Local History Group : www.hamptoninardenhistory.org

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