Marlborough College Chapel has one of the most spectacular and sumptuous school interiors to be found anywhere in the world, not least because of the presence of 12 remarkable Pre-Raphaelite paintings by John Roddam Spencer Stanhope on the theme of The Ministration of Angels on Earth.
This year, 2023, marks 150 years since Stanhope first undertook work for the College, and we celebrate this significant anniversary with a new digital publication that examines more closely the Chapel’s paintings and other Victorian masterpieces, such as the Scholars’ Window by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris.
The publication has been researched and authored by Dr Simon McKeown, Head of History of Art, with impressive contributions from Daisy D and from OMs Delilah White (EL 2014-19) and Lily Martin-Jenkins (IH 2014-19). The sumptuous photography is by Gavin James, Director of the Blackett Observatory and Head of Astronomy.
We in the College community are fortunate to enjoy the Chapel and its glorious works of art regularly at close hand. It is our hope that this publication, and its companion volume on the Chapel’s history and architecture which will be published in September, will enable others at further remove to appreciate the consummate skill that artists long ago devoted to a building set aside in perpetuity for the spiritual nurture and enrichment of Marlborough College’s pupils.
