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Bledlow Methodist Chapel

This memorial is a stained-glass window measuring 8ft high by 4ft wide. It depicts a man-at-arms in medieval armour with red cloak with gold trim, and hands resting on the pommel of a reversed broad sword. He is standing at the bottom right of the window looking up to an angel floating in the upper left who is welcoming him in to the Kingdom of Heaven; depicted by a river leading to a medieval ‘town’ behind which is the setting (or rising) sun. On the left bank of the river, in the middle distance, is a fanfare of three angel trumpeters. The angel is golden haloed, has wings feathered in hues of red and bears a scrolled banner. The angel trumpeters have feathered wings and trumpets of gold. The background is of various blues and greens depicting the heavens, blazoned with yellow stars, a dusk (or dawn) sky, shadowed hills in the middle distance and grassland with flowering plants and bushes in the foreground. The lowest portion of the window contains scrolls bearing epitaphs and roll of honour panels to those killed in World War I. The glass elements are fixed in place by a lead matrix and the whole is held in a frame to facilitate mounting in the window space. The memorial window was originally installed in the Bledlow Methodist Chapel but now adorns the Chancel of Holy Trinity Church, a Grade I listed building, in Bledlow.

In 2010, a grant of £1,442 was offered through the Small Grants Scheme towards relocation of the memorial as well as cleaning and repair works. The memorial needed to be relocated as the Methodist Chapel had been closed for a number of years and a planning application had been made for a change of use so the building could be used for residential purposes; this would mean that the memorial would not be accessible to the public. The Methodist Church wished for the memorial to be kept within the village and thankfully Holy Trinity Church, also in Bledlow, was happy to re-home the memorial. As this would mean that the memorial would still be publically accessible, would still be in a religious building and nearby to its original location, the Trust was supportive of the application. As Holy Trinity Church is a Grade I listed building a faculty was required for the installation of the window.

Conservation and relocation of glass windows is a very specialist area of work. The window was removed from the Methodist Chapel and rubbings made so the pieces could be re-fixed in exactly the same locations. Buckled areas were dismantled for repair, the external face of glass pieces were cleaned with fibreglass pens and de-ionized water, the inner faces lightly brushed clean where necessary. The window was reassembled with new leading the same width and profile as the original, and cemented as the original. The restored window was installed in Holy Trinity Church re-using original internal ties, where viable, and with replacement non-ferrous ties.

The names of the architect and craftsmen cannot be confirmed, but are believed to be Clayton & Bell of London. Funding was by public subscription to the sum of £140. The memorial was dedicated on Easter Monday, 2nd April 1923.

The banner scroll reads:

“Glory to God and on earth peace”

The epitaph on the upper scroll reads:

“So they passed over & all the trumpets
sounded for them on the other side”

The epitaph on the lower scroll reads:

“To the glory of God
In grateful memory of the men of this parish who gave
their lives for God, King and Country in the Great War 1914-1919”

“Their name liveth for evermore”

The left and right roll of honour panels bear the names of those commemorated.

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM3034
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 58019

War Memorials Online: 67892

The National Heritage List for England: 1125801

Buckinghamshire Remembers

If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org

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