'Thomas Willement, Gothic Revivalist & Oxfordshire' - Priscilla Frost

Thomas Willement (1786 – 1871) was a Gothic Revivalist, Interior Designer who is often referred to as "the Father of Victorian Stained Glass", yet relatively few are aware of his work.

Active from 1811 to 1865, he was born at St Marylebone, London. Like many early 19th century provincial stained glass artists, he began as a plumber and glazier. The two jobs, now separate trades, being at that time linked because both required the skills of working with lead. In 1811, Thomas Willement produced a window with a heraldic shield. It was from this beginning that he went on to become one of the most successful of England’s early 19th century stained glass artists.

This talk will not only give you an introduction to his life but also show examples of his mastery of heraldic glass, some of his major work but also some of the windows that TW was commissioned to produce in Oxfordshire.

Priscilla Frost, who lives in Charlbury, is distantly related via her Mother’s side? to this designer. Whilst becoming familiar with known examples of his work e.g. in St George’s Chapel, Windsor (by Royal Patent, he became “Artist in Stained Glass” to Queen Victoria), she has also discovered previously unattributed examples of TW’s work elsewhere.