On the edge of a quiet village in rural Hampshire lies one of the most extraordinary artistic achievements of C20 Britain. Within a small, non-descript 1920’s brick edifice, often described as looking like a telephone exchange or electricity sub-station, lies one of the most remarkable and ambitious artistic endeavours of the last century. The murals within the Sandham Memorial Chapel in the tiny village of Burghclere are without doubt the finest achievement of Stanley Spencer, one of the most important and original British artists of the C20.
The genesis of the work is strange. Spencer declared his intention to create a great painted chapel while in Macedonia with the British Army in WWI and he continued to work on designs over the subsequent years. It was only on a chance visit by his later benefactors, John Louis and Mary Behrend, to the house of fellow artist Henry Lamb in 1923 that they saw Spencer’s preparatory sketches and became determined to realize his vision.
It was an extraordinary commitment by the Behrend’s, who were well-off but not rich, for Spencer was to prove indomitable in his pursuit of his vision and would brook no interference from others. The building, though designed by Lionel Pearson (the first architect having been dispatched after an altercation with Spencer) was in fact built to the exacting demands and precise dimensions set down by Spencer himself. The Behrend’s did insist on the addition of two almshouses to either side of the chapel and on the site in Burghclere rather than Spencer’s preferred location at Cookham. The architecture could be best described as self-effacing, slightly at odds with its rural setting perhaps, but nevertheless providing nothing to distract from the wonders within.
The Behrend’s intention was that the chapel would be a memorial to Mary’s brother, Harry Sandham, though admittedly this came long after Spencer had started work. However, Spencer was more interested in recalling the ordinary soldier’s lives, there is no actual reference to the subject matter in his work. Instead his own personal war experience as a medical orderly in Bristol and then in Macedonia are the basis for his homage to the ordinary soldier. And indeed it is the ordinariness, the humdrum tasks that capture his imagination. Unlike many war artists, it is not the drama of battle that interests Spencer but the humdrum, everyday normality that typifies the soldier’s life between brief interludes of conflict. Soldiers mending clothes, getting dressed, washing, at camp and rest – these are the subject matter for Spencer’s mighty opus.
Spencer is one of the few British artists who can be described as a unique talent. His art has no obvious precursors and nor has anybody followed his most distinctive style and vision. Unusually for the time, he owes nothing to French art, Impressionism or the other “isms” of the time. If there is an influence it is the artists of the Italian Renaissance, their crowded scenes of religious and secular life owe something to Spencer’s subject matter, but the realization, the humanity, the joy in the ordinary and everyday are Spencer’s own unique contribution to art. The murals at the Sandham Memorial Chapel, which largely consumed Spencer for 5 years between 1927 and 1932, are undoubtedly the finest work of this most distinctive artist.
The Sandham Memorial Chapel is located on the edge of Burghclere village, a few miles south of Newbury. It is owned by the National Trust and open during the summer months. Check the website for details.
