The Beauchamp Chapel, St Mary’s, Warwick, has been awarded a grant from the National Churches Trust. The chapel, which boasts a glazing scheme understood to be the most expensive carried out in England in the fifteenth century, will receive a £40,000 Cornerstone Grant for urgent repairs and conservation.
Fig. 1. The Beauchamp Chapel looking east.
The award is the final sum in the fundraising project, which saw combined donations from English Heritage, National Lottery and private donors reach £1m. Work on the chapel will take place in three phases, with the restoration of the walls and stained-glass windows in the south and east sides being prioritized, before work begins on the roof.
The chapel contains the tomb of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and the windows are by John Prudde of Westminster (Henry VI’s glazier) and date from 1447–64. The windows are notable for the lavish use of leaded jewelling, and the accurate depictions of musical instruments of the mid-fifteenth century. See Vidimus 43 for more information on the windows.
