Clayton & Bell (1855-1993)

Stained glass firm founded in London by John Richard Clayton and Alfred Bell. Within a few years the firm occupied a leading place in stained glass design and manufacture. Exceedingly prolific, and although usually of high standard, the 'production line' approach was beginning to show by the mid 1860s, by which time the firm was established in Regent Street with 300 employees. The firm was also prominent in the creation of decorative schemes and murals for churches. In the 1880s the two founders withdrew from active participation and Alfred Bell's eldest son, John Clement, eventually took over the firm after his partnership with John Essex Clayton. Successive generations kept the firm going until the death of Michael Farrar Bell in 1993.

Clayton and Bell Stained Glass Flickr Group

Further reading

William Waters, Angels & Icons: Pre-Raphaelite Stained Glass 1850–1870 (Abbots Morton: Serapim Press, 2012), pp. 41–121.

'Clayton and Bell' Journal of the British Society of Master Glass-Painters, vol. iv, no. 3 (1932), 142–5.

Peter Larkworthy, Clayton and Bell, Stained Glass Artists and Decorators (London: The Ecclesiological Society, 1984).

Birkin Haward, Nineteenth Century Suffolk Stained Glass (Woodbridge: Boydell, 1989), pp. 153–5.

Martin Harrison, Victorian Stained Glass (London: 1980), pp. 29–33 and further references.

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	Scenes from the Life of St Anne and the Virgin Mary restorer: Clayton & Bell 1498, restored in 1872 Church of All Saints, Gresford, Wrexham east wall of the Lady Chapel
	Te Deum and Tree of Jesse restorer: Clayton & Bell 1500, restored in 1867 Church of All Saints, Gresford, Wrexham east wall of the chancel
	Medieval Fragments including Scenes from the Lives of St John the Baptist and St Anthony restorer: Clayton & Bell early sixteenth century, restored in 1915-16 Church of All Saints, Gresford, Wrexham east end of the south aisle chapel (Trevor, or St Catherine's, Chapel)
	Prophets and Evangelists firm/studio: Clayton & Bell Church of St Nicholas, Montgomery, Powys east wall of the chancel
	The Crucifixion with The Supper at Emmaus and The Nativity firm/studio: Clayton & Bell about 1859 Church of St David, Llanfaes, Brecon, Powys west wall of the north aisle
	The Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary, St John, Mary Magdalene and the Centurion firm/studio: Clayton & Bell 1860 Church of St Catwg, Llangattock, Powys north wall of the north aisle
	Virgin and Child with the Burial of Sarah firm/studio: Clayton & Bell about 1860 Church of St David, Merthyr Tydfil south wall of the sanctuary
	The Resurrection firm/studio: Clayton & Bell probably 1860s or 70s Church of St David, Merthyr Tydfil north wall of the sanctuary
	The Transfiguration firm/studio: Clayton & Bell 1862 Church of St Peter, Lampeter Velfrey, Pembrokeshire east wall of the chancel
	The Resurrection and Ascension firm/studio: Clayton & Bell about 1863 Pentrefoelas Parish Church, Pentrefoelas, Conwy west wall of the nave

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