3-011-916 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Bromley College, Kent, established for the widows of clergymen: the Chapel, 1864. The new chapel, which '...has been erected by Mr. Muffett, of Bromley, from the design of Messrs. Waring and Blake, is of the Early Decorated period; which blends, not inharmoniously, with the later style of the rest of the college...The roof is of stained deal, high and pointed, with purlins, principals and intersecting collar-beams, and lacing pieces resting on heel posts and stone corbels. It is lighted by nine dormer windows, a construction which the peculiar position of the chapel, shut in at the west end by two houses, rendered necessary in order to obtain sufficient light. The walls are pierced by eight windows...filled with painted glass, executed by Mr. O'Connor, and are fine specimens of the rich colouring of that artist...They represent in one continued series the most eminent women of Scripture...The seats and desks are of handsomely carved oak: the floor is of encaustic tiles; the altar-cloth and cushions were worked by the ladies of the college...Of the 14,000 married clergymen in England a large proportion, it is to be feared, can leave their families, in case of death, no assured means of livelihood'. From "Illustrated London News", 1864.