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| All Saints, Putney Common |
On Putney Common stands the most beautiful church. I was awe-struck. All Saints, Putney Common had an open day last week. The draw for me were the stained glass windows designed by Edward Burne Jones and decorated by him and William Morris. This is the only church with a complete set of EDJ and WM windows. But the church was more than that.
The architect of the church was G E Street. I thought I recognised that name. William Morris once worked for him before he decided architecture wasn't for him. Oh gosh, Street really went to town on this church - painted ceilings, gorgeous arches nicknamed streaky bacon! The metalwork is glorious. This is a feast for the eyes and senses. How come I hadn't known about this church before?
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| Font |
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| Streaky bacon arches! |
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| Edward Burne Jones |
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| Altar |
The good thing is that the church holds open days regularly, and if you can get there, do!
There are one set of windows made by another firm, strangely also called Morris & Co. The style is different...painted?
I arrived in time for the guided tour, which was really informative. We began outside the church. Unlike many churches, there is only one door, the north-west corner. The church is slightly gothic in style and has a small turret (one bell), and ridged roof in levels. There is no churchyard, just garden space with a wild meadow. The church was consecrated in 1874 and built to accommodate the fast-growing Putney area. The ground was given by the 5th Earl Spencer. There are so many connections to the Arts & Crafts movement it is crazy. These include GE Watts and the De Morgan's, whose museum used to be at Wandsworth (collections/exhibitions now at the Watts Gallery outside Guildford.
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| William Morris window |
It was senses overload for me, someone who if I went on Mastermind William Morris and the Arts & Craft Movement would probably be my specialist subject! I went totally crazy taking photos. I've not posted all of them!
I realise my last few posts have been mainly about the Arts & Crafts movement, but next week all will change.
However, by complete contrast, it was vintage bus day for the 213 bus route near me on Saturday. While the bus nerds were out jotting things down in notebooks and taking photos, I was just happy to take a nostalgic trip to Sutton Bus Garage and back, first in a single decker and then a double decker. The queues at Sutton Bus Garage were unreal. Someone said 300 people!
I'd forgotten the little windows with winding key. No air conditioning, so when we got stuck in a traffic jam, it was very hot. On the first bus we had a conductor. Remember those? The buses were crowded and often could only take two people at a stop. We were lucky both times. Coming back, I was sat next to a guy who used to work for the buses (not this area), and he'd come all the way from Portsmouth just to be there. He'd already ridden on five buses and hoped to add another couple before leaving.
I could see the obession in the eyes of these guys (there were some women), a bit like train spotters, they are consumed, but we all have our obsessions (I think you know mine!) and they were having a whale of a day. Thanks to the volunteers who organised and rode the buses to keep everyone safe. We got a ticket, but didn't have to pay. It was a free ride day.
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