Christopher Rahere Webb (1886-1966) was an English
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
designer.
His unusual second name was derived from that of the founder of
St Bartholomew's Priory in London where his father, Edward Alfred Webb and his uncle,
Sir Aston Webb
Sir Aston Webb (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in par ...
carried out restoration work. Webb was educated at
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
and at the
Slade School of Art
The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
and then articled to Sir
Ninian Comper
Sir John Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 – 22 December 1960) was a Scottish architect; one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects.
His work almost entirely focused on the design, restoration and embellishment of churches, and the des ...
.
His glass work is among the finest of the first half of the 20th century. Sixteen examples of his mature work dating from 1935 to 1948 are at
Sheffield Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Sheffield, more commonly known as Sheffield Cathedral, is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral sta ...
; among these are the unique series on the
history of Sheffield
The history of Sheffield, a city in South Yorkshire, England, can be traced back to the founding of a settlement in a clearing beside the River Sheaf in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. The area now known as Sheffield had seen human oc ...
in the
Chapter House
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...
.
Webb's signature is a
Saint Christopher
Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is veneration, venerated by several Christianity, Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Empire, Roman emperor Deciu ...
with his initials, usually placed in the bottom right hand corner of the window. Characteristics of his style are accuracy of historical detail, his ability to convey basic theological ideas with clarity, the prominence of clear glass and his use of scrolls and foliage.
Sources
*Cottam, Alan (2004) ''The Stained Glass of Sheffield Cathedral''
*Cottam, Alan (1993) ''Sheffield Cathedral Stained Glass''
*Jarvis, Alfred Charles Eustace (1939) ''A Guide to the Additions to the Fabric of the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Paul, Sheffield, consecrated and dedicated on Tuesday 14 February 1939''; compiled by Provost Jarvis. Sheffield: Northend
rinter
*
Lunn, David,
Bishop of Sheffield
The Bishop of Sheffield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Sheffield in the Province of York.
A similar title was first created as a suffragan see in the Diocese of York in 1901. John Quirk, the only Bishop suffragan of Shef ...
(1987) ''Chapters Towards a History of the Cathedral and Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Sheffield''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Christopher
1886 births
1966 deaths
History of Sheffield
British stained glass artists and manufacturers