The three windows
by Theodora Salusbury 1875 – 1956
Theodora Salusbury was born in Leicestershire but worked in studios in London and Cornwall. Her father, Llewellyn Salusbury, a solicitor practicing in Leicester, had family roots in Wales. Until Miss While of The Elms, Birstall left her house to the family in 1907, they had been living in Llanwern Lodge next door to St James the Greater church on London Road in Leicester, but they appear to have divided their time between that house and The Elms from 1907 until 1919, when they finally sold Llanwern Lodge and settled in Birstall. St James the Great church has three windows by Theodora Salusbury, one of which is dedicated to her parents.
The Annunciation
The earliest window is "the Annunciation" in the south wall of the original chancel. It probably dates from pre 1923, and has a peacock, Theodora Salusbury's signature mark in the lower right hand corner of the left light.
The two-light window is given unity by the shaft of light which falls from top left to bottom right. The dedication is to Mary Jane Wade (1849-1875) by bequest of her husband George Tempest Wade in 1920. Mary Jane Wade had died the year that her daughter, Mary T. Wade was born. George Tempest Wade, an auctioneer, died in 1919, and his daughter Mary, who had married George Edmund Bouskell, died in 1920.
The headstones of George Tempest Wade and his wife Mary Jane, and of George Edmund Bouskell, can be seen in the church graveyard.
The parable of the Talents
The second window, in the north wall of the original chancel, is the one dedicated to Theodora Salusbury's parents, and it depicts the Parable of the Talents. On the right Christ is portrayed as the Master, with the good and faithful servant; on the left are two other servants with their pouches of money. Behind the figures in the left light there is a town on the hill, and behind the Christ figure is the Sea of Galilee, with another little town on the hills beyond. An interesting comparison can be made between this window and Theodora Salusbury's window at Kimcote, which treats the same subject.
Beside the inscription below this window is a coat of arms, which shows dexter, the Salusbury of Llanwern arms, and sinister, the Wilmer arms of Theodora Salusbury's mother. Above is the crest, the Salusbury demi-lion rampant holding a crescent moon in his paw. Below is the motto: "Satis est prostrasse leoni". ("It is enough for a lion to have overthrown". This is a shortened sentence from Ovid Tristia 111).
The Virgin and Child
The third window may date from around 1932. This window illustrates well Theodora Salusbury's skill in portraying the bond between mother and child. Mary and the baby Jesus are lit by dazzling heavenly radiance above them. On the border of Mary's robe is a St Andrew's cross, and the central drape of the blue robe is decorated with small angels.
All Theodora Salusbury's records were destroyed, but it is known that during the first quarter of the twentieth century Theodora Salusbury was living, studying and working in London. She studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and at the Royal School, and trained with Christopher Whall (1849-1924) and his pupil Karl Parsons (1884 -1934). She exhibited at the Royal Academy, and at Liverpool.
By 1925, Theodora Salusbury had her own studio at St Agnes in Cornwall, where she continued to design windows during this most productive phase of her life, between 1920 and 1940. There is a window by Theodora Salusbury in the church at St Agnes, and also a statue designed by her of Mary and the Christ child.
Theodora Salusbury's work is easily recognisable, through her use of vivid colour, and the immediacy of the figures portrayed in her panels. Her style of portraiture is also identifiable, with babies and children being particularly sympathetically drawn.
Theodora Salusbury would design the cartoons for her windows and paint the glass and cut it herself. Her windows were then fired and leaded up by Lowndes & Drury at The Glass House in Fulham. This studio was founded by Mary Lowndes (1856 - 1929), who became a leading figure in the suffragette movement. She also had studied at the Slade, and been a pupil of Henry Holiday, and by the 1890s had taught herself the techniques of glass painting as well as designing and working in the studio of Britten and Gilson. In 1889 Britten and Gilson had redeveloped as "Norman" glass a type of glazing which is perfectly suited to providing the rich depth of colour which is often to be seen in Theodora Salusbury's windows, and can even help to identify them.
Sometime after the Second World War Theodora Salusbury moved to live in Bath to be with her sisters. Only one of her windows is known to date from this period, and this is to be found at Kimcote, dedicated to the memory of her brother and of his mother-in-law. Theodora Salusbury designed this window, but the making of it was carried out by Margaret Thompson, who also had connections with the firm of Lowndes and Drury.
Georgina Maltby, (cousin)
Some other local windows by Theodora Salusbury:
Queniborough: St Mary's.
Leicester: St James the Greater (4), St Peter's, Highfields & St Alban's, Harrington Road (4)