RWB Hornby memorial window at York Minster (by Kempe)

Kempe in 1860

Charles Eamer Kempe (June 29, 1837 - April 29, 1907) was a well-known Victorian stained glass designer. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Year 1837 ( MDCCCXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Events 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans. Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year For the Blackford Oakes novel see Stained Glass (novel The term stained glass refers either to the material of coloured Glass or to the art He studied for the priesthood at Pembroke College, Oxford, but it became clear that his severe stammer would be an impediment to preaching. A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. Stammer may refer to Stuttering or People Notker of St Gall "Notker the Stammerer" (840-912 Louis the Stammerer He decided that "if I was not permitted to minister in the Sanctuary I would use my talents to adorn it", and went to study architecture with the firm of George Frederick Bodley, where he learned the art of decorating church walls and ceilings. The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation George Frederick Bodley (1827 – 21 October 1907) was an English Architect working in the Gothic revival style During this part of his life he was making a serious study of mediaeval stained glass, and in 1866 he opened a studio of his own in London, supplying not only stained glass to Bodley's firm but also furnishings and vestments. Year 1866 ( MDCCCLXVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religions especially the Latin Rite and other Roman Catholics By 1899 he had over fifty employees. Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

As a trademark, the firm used a golden garb or wheatsheaf, taken from Kempe's own coat of arms. A trademark or trade mark, represented by the symbols ™ and ®, or mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people After his death, the firm was taken over by Kempe's cousin, Walter Tower, and thenceforth used a black tower above the golden garb. A lack of orders caused by the Great Depression ended the firm's life in 1934. Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Kempe was a rather shy person, who never married. He had a dog called Nora. His maternal grandfather was Sir John Eamer, who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1801. The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of (and head of the City of London Corporation. Year 1801 ( MDCCCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Tuesday

Rosalie Glynn Grylls, Lady Mander, whose home Wightwick Manor, near Wolverhampton, contains many pieces of Kempe's stained glass, wrote in 1973:

Kempe's work has a unique charm; its colours shine out from jewels that cluster on the mitres or the crowns his figures wear and from their peacocks' feathers, while angels playing their instruments are drawn with tender delicacy and scattered above the main windows informally but making a pattern of precision. The Mander family has held for over 200 years a prominent position in the Midland counties of England, both in the family business and public life Wightwick Manor ( (pronounced 'Wittick' is a Victorian Manor house located on Wightwick Bank Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. The mitre (sometimes also spelled miter from the Greek μίτρα, 'headband' or 'turban' is a type of headgear now known as the traditional ceremonial head-dress of A crown is the traditional Symbolic form of Headgear worn by a Monarch or by a Deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power The term peafowl refers to Gallinaceous Birds classified within the genera Rheinardia Argusianus Afropavoand Pavo An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition Above all, the prevailing yellow wash is literally translucent, for it lets through the rays of the full or the setting sun. . .

See also

• Stained glass
• Stained glass - British glass, 1811-1918
• Victorian Era
• Gothic Revival

External Links and References

• Charles Eamer Kempe
• Monmouth Group of Parishes: Charles Eamer Kempe
• The Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene: Charles Eamer Kempe - Stained Glass Windows
• Victorian Wolverhampton: A Town Through Its Buildings - Architects and Craftsmen of Wolverhampton's Buildings