East Window

Whilst conducting research into the history of St Mary’s Catholic Church, built in the 1850s on Gosport High Street, a current parishioner of Gosport, Clarinda Mansfield, chanced upon a surprising claim in a Facebook group discussing church architecture, art and history. It was suggested that the stained-glass east window above the high altar of St Mary’s in Gosport may be the work of Sir John Ninian Comper (1864-1960), one of the best celebrated Gothic Revival architects in Britain. This was unexpected, as the window has long been attributed to the German Architect, Gottfried Semper (1803-1879).

Excited by the possibility, Clarinda delved into the history of Comper’s work where she came across a reference to the town of Gosport. Comper allegedly completed two stained-glass windows in Gosport, though their condition and whereabouts were unknown, being listed as most likely destroyed during the bombings of World War II. Armed with her knowledge of Comper’s artistic style and with reference to his body of work, Clarinda made a careful study of the window over many weeks. It became evident that the Gosport window reflected Comper’s artistic style & technique. Might the history books have been mistaken in attributing the work to Semper? Might this be one of Comper’s Gosport windows thought to have been lost during World War II?

Read the full article here.