VI. The Stained Glass of the Chapel of the Vyne and the Chapel of the Holy Ghost, Basingstoke

Among the few ensembles of stained glass which survive in this country from the early Renaissance the windows of the Chapel of the Vyne, near Sherborne St. John, Hampshire, are one of the most remarkable (pl. XL). Though much smaller in scale and extent than the glass in King's College Chapel, Cambridge, they are no less distinguished in quality, and their state of preservation is almost as good. Moreover, there are still in existence important fragments from a larger but closely related set which formerly stood in the Chapel of the Holy Ghost at Basingstoke. Both sets were evidently commissioned by Sir William, later Baron Sandys, a distinguished soldier and administrator who, without ever reaching the highest levels, served Henry VIII both at home and abroad from the beginning of the reign until his death in 1540. After campaigning in Guienne and Picardy early in the reign he was appointed Treasurer of Calais from 6th October 1517, and spent much of the next nine years there. Meanwhile he had married Margery, the niece and heiress of Sir Reginald Bray, one of Henry VII's most trusted administrators, and begun the reconstruction of the Vyne which had belonged to the Sandys family since the midfourteenth century. There had since the twelfth century been a chapel of the Virgin in the grounds, and this foundation he incorporated into the eastern end of the house itself. Sir William's chapel measures 35 ft. in length, 19 in width, and 25 in height (10·67 × 5·79 × 7·62 m.). The apsidal east end ie three-sided, and in the east wall and the two canted walls are three windows, each consisting of three transomed lights forming an upper and lower register. The lower lights represent donors at prayer supported by their patron saints: King Henry VIII can be recognised in the east window with St. Henry the Emperor; in the north-east Catherine of Aragon with St. Catherine of Alexandria; and in the south-east the king's sister, Margaret, Queen of Scots, with St. Margaret issuing from the dragon. In the upper register three Passion scenes proceed from south to north: in the south-east Christ carries his cross from right to left, assisted by Simon of Cyrene, while St. Veronica, the Virgin Mary and her attendant women move towards him from the left; in the east is a narrative Crucifixion animated by a large number of figures; and in the north-east the resurrected Christ scatters the astonished soldiers to either side

Ancient history · Art · Art history · Chapel · Political science · Politics · Reign · Theology · Classics · Historical Art and Culture Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Scottish History and National Identity

• The early Tudor Renaissance in Hampshire

  Open Access•Nicholas Riall•Renaissance Studies•2007

  Add to list

• The Waller Tomb at Stoke Charity, Hampshire

  Nicholas Riall•Journal of the British…•2013

  Add to list

• Thomas Bertie, the Master-Mason at Winchester Cathedral C 1515–50

  Open Access•Nicholas Riall•The Antiquaries Journal•2015

  Add to list

• The Painted Windows in the Chapel of the Vyne in Hampshire

  G McN Rushforth•Archaeological Journal•1927

  Add to list