Page 18 - Hindsight Issue 26 April 2020

BUILDIngs
THE KEMPE WINDOW IN HOLY SEPULCHRE CHURCH, NORTHAMPTON
John Kightley MBE FISMM
John Kightley has been a trustee of the Holy Sepulchre Restoration Trust since its foundation in 1982. The trust is a limited company and John is its Director/ Secretary as well as being events organiser, historian, researcher and head tour guide. In this article he writes about a massive conservation project sparked off by a newspaper advertisement. Descriptive details come from an address by Adrian Barlow of the Kempe Trust, given at the re-dedication of the window in the Becket Chapel on 3 March 2019.
A tiny advertisement from a newspaper has led to northampton’s national treasure reaping a massive conservation achievement. the HoLY sePULCHRe (northampton) RestoRAtIon tRUst LtD, having sight of the advertisement, gathered its resources together and responded with an ‘expression of Interest’. the reply we received left the directors astounded and facing unexpected works that would gain an extraordinary result that is now the centre of all our recent conservation highlights.
Back in 2013 the trust employed steve Clare from Holywell glass to study and prepare a report on the condition and status of all our military and famous stained glass windows. A massive amount of investment was required to bring up-to-date the status of each and every one. the trust funded three of the windows without delay, always aware that the Charles eamer Kempe 1887 window was calling out for a fair amount of detailed attention. the Clare report suggested that some tens of thousands of pounds of investment would be needed to restore the window to its former glory.
Coincidence is often a great driver of achievement and it so happened that John Kightley, the author of this article, had just completed a research document stretching back to the 1880s that revealed the excitement of the congregation for the proposed window, although sadly it was to be a dedication of love by a parishioner for his late wife.1 over the months of planning and costing the congregation warmed to the design relating to the Resurrection. Installation took place and then the doubts set in...the situation became dire as factions of the congregation took sides of for and against.
the trust decided to respond to the advertisement which had offered the sum of £1,500 to any religious church or building that had a Kempe studio stained glass
1 the window was given by Richard Bevan in 1887 in memory of his wife. Richard and Isabella Bevan lived for some years at their home in sheep street, northampton whilst Richard followed his career as a town J P. subsequently the family moved to Brixworth Hall where the family had more children prior to the sad loss of Isabella.
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