William Wailes (1838-1914)

Stained Glass firm established by William Wailes in Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1838. It quickly became one of the two largest workshops in England with a vast output (the other was Hardmans of Birmingham), and by 1851 William Wailes was employing 76 workmen. From 1838-45 he made windows for A.W.N. Pugin. Windows by Wailes are characterised by bright colours. Later work was more 'factually' Biblical, and even pictorial. After the death of William Wailes in 1881, the firm continued to make stained glass under the leadership of Thomas Rankine Strang, the son-in-law of William Wailes, using the name Wailes and Strang. Waile's daughter and Strang's wife, Margaret Janet Wailes, was probably the chief designer in the later stages of the firm's life.

Further reading

Ronald Torbet, The Wonderful Windows of William Wailes (Lancaster: Scotforth Books, 2003).

Paul Thompson, William Butterfield (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1971), p. 463.

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	Scenes from the Gospels firm/studio: William Wailes 1842 Church of All Saints, Llangorwen, Ceredigion east wall of the chancel
	The Baptism of Christ firm/studio: probably William Wailes about 1850 Church of St Catherine, Llanfaes, Anglesey north wall of the chancel
	Christ with the Virgin Mary and St John firm/studio: William Wailes 1849 Church of St Gastyn, Llangasty-Talyllyn, Powys east wall of the chancel
	Christ with Children firm/studio: William Wailes 1849 Church of St Gastyn, Llangasty-Talyllyn, Powys west wall of the tower
	Christ Walking on the Water firm/studio: William Wailes about 1849 Church of St Gastyn, Llangasty-Talyllyn, Powys south wall of the sanctuary
	The Baptism of Christ firm/studio: William Wailes about 1849 Church of St Gastyn, Llangasty-Talyllyn, Powys north wall of the sanctuary
	Christ Raising the Daughter of Jairus firm/studio: William Wailes about 1849 Church of St Gastyn, Llangasty-Talyllyn, Powys east wall of the south chapel (organ chamber)
	The Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary and St John firm/studio: William Wailes about 1851 Church of St Nicholas, Penally, Pembrokeshire east wall of the chancel
	Peter's Confession, Christ Blessing the Children and Christ's Feet Anointed at Bethany firm/studio: William Wailes 1852 Church of St Deiniol, Hawarden, Flintshire south wall of Whitley Chancel aisle
	Scenes from the Life of the Virgin Mary firm/studio: William Wailes 1852 St Beuno's Jesuit Spirituality Centre, Tremeirchion, Denbighshire chapel

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View this record on the Stained Glass in Wales Catalogue