St Phillips Church, Tunbridge Wells

St Phillips in Tunbridge Wells is a modern church, not just in its architecture but also its internal spirit. Each time Isobel Brunsdon, of East Sussex based Labyrinth Stained Glass, visited the church she felt there was a vibrancy and energy about the place and wanted to reflect this in the design of the windows she was commissioned to create.

Isobel takes up the story: "The symbolism I have used was chosen partly for its ability to be recognised as a familiar way to express The Holy Trinity, but also from a design point of view the subject works particularly well interpreted in the medium of stained glass. Initially I drew the design to a quarter scale but it was soon clear that having three windows with the central window much larger than the ones either side was going to present a problem. I wanted the three windows to be viewed as a whole rather than as individual works, and perhaps, in a rather unconventional way I have placed the Holy Spirit in the central, larger window. From an artistic point of view the dove descending through flames created movement that needed to be at the forefront of the whole design.

"At the apex of each window are three interwoven circles to represent the unity of The Holy Trinity, within this, the chosen symbol for each. Each window also contains the cross in the design particular to St Phillips Church.

"The central window ‘God The Holy Spirit’ shows the descending dove within the three circles, three doves then spiral a path through flames to earth and mankind.

"The left hand window ‘God the Father’ shows the right hand of God extending to earth while in the main body of the window the world is depicted being blessed within supporting hands.

"The right hand window ‘God the Son’ shows the three fishes within the concentric circles, the fins forming a crown of thorns. Three fish flow down the window in the water of life.

"The glass used in the windows is hand blown by the English Antique Glass Company based in Alvechurch, Birmingham. The nature of hand blown glass means that it varies in thickness to 3mm to perhaps 6mm. This gives a wonderful clarity and luminescence. The glass is a streaky variety which means the colour has been applied to a clear base giving the glass a painterly appearance. I am then able to cut sheets of glass to the pattern in such a way that I can chose the direction of the ‘grain’ and therefore gain movement to the window.

"A large part of the design process is in the placement of the lead lines, the lead in this case is as an important feature as the glass, as this also dictates direction and movement."

You can find out more about Isobel and her work at www.labyrinthstainedglass.co.uk