Tag Archives: Foster

Jun 25 2012

1868: All Saints Anglican Church, South Hobart, Tasmania.

The Colonial Victorian Stained Glass firm, Ferguson & Urie created the John Henry Foster Memorial Window, and the ‘St Matthew & St Luke’ and ‘St Mark & St Peter’ windows at All Saints Anglican Church, South Hobart, Tasmania.

The vast majority of our historical stained glass memorial windows have an element of tragedy and mystery surrounding them, but over the course of more than a century the story behind who they were memorials to has long faded from memory.

In August 1867, James Urie, a principal partner in the Colonial Victorian Stained Glass firm, Ferguson & Urie, was travelling Tasmania with a portfolio of the companies secular and ecclesiastical stained glass designs. Amongst the many commissions he had received for stained glass windows, was one for Mr John Foster Esq, to be erected as a memorial to his eldest son, John Henry Foster[1].

 “DECORATIVE ART– The admirers of art workmanship will be glad to hear that there has for the last couple of weeks been sojourning in Tasmania, a partner of the Victorian firm of Ferguson, Urie, and Lyon, to whom many ecclesiastical and private edifices in this and the neighbouring colonies are indebted for some of the finest specimens of pictorial decoration on glass, of which they have yet become the possessors…”[2]

“…the firm are in receipt of commissions from John Foster, Esq, for a memorial window to be placed in All Saints’ church, Hobart Town, in remembrance of the donor’s deceased son, and from A. Kennerley Esq[3], for other decorated windows for the same church…” 

Photos taken 8th October 2010.

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The two light Foster memorial window for All Saints Anglican Church in Hobart was created by Ferguson & Urie and erected circa 1868.

A trefoil above both lights depicts the Lamb of God (Latin ‘Anus Dei”) carrying the Christian banner.

The central figures in each light depict beautifully coloured and intricately designed figures that correspond with verses from Mark 11:22, with the text below: “HAVE FAITH IN GOD” and Luke 18:16 with the text, “SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO ME”.

Above each figure is an angel carrying a ribbon with text from Revelations 14:13 “Blessed are the dead” and “Which die in the lord”

The bottom edge of the window has the memorial text:

“ERECTED BY JOHN FOSTER ESQ. IN MEMORY OF HIS DEAR SON”.

The memorial text on the window doesn’t reveal much information, but the prominent Tasmanian newspapers of the time reveal the sad story of the boys demise.

On the evening of the 3rd of December 1866 a tragic accident occurred near the Foster family home at 94 Davey street Hobart. In the vicinity of the barrack gates in Davey street, the young John Henry Foster was knocked from his pony by a coach and subsequently run over by its wheels and he died shortly after.

“DISTRESSING AND FATAL ACCIDENT.- One of the most distressing and fatal accidents, which it has for some time past been our lot to record, occurred in Davey-street at about half past four o’clock yesterday afternoon. It appears that Master Foster, son of John Foster, Esq., of Davey-street, a promising little lad between six and seven years of age, was riding on his piebald pony along Barrack-street, being accompanied by Master Hinsby, who was also on horseback. When nearing the corner opposite the barrack gate a cab was observed coming down Davey-street at full speed. Master Hinsby kept his right side, taking a full sweep, and passing the cab. He was closely followed by Master Foster, but the cab took rather a wide sweep in turning the corner and ran right into the poor lad, who was struck it is believed by the pole, knocked off his pony and the wheels of the cab passing over him. He was at once picked up, and under the direction of the Hon. R. Q. Kermode, Esq., and Dr. Benson, who were passing at the time, he was conveyed into a cottage near the residence of Captain Clinch…”[4]

Young John Henry Foster was subsequently dispatched to hospital and Dr Bright was in attendance within half an hour but “…on his arrival the poor little fellow had breathed his last.”[5] Equally tragic was the fact that the boys parents were away in Melbourne at the time and it was left to the Hon R. Q. Kermode to contact them and advise of the tragedy.

“Mr. Kermode has, we believe, written to the bereaved gentleman informing him of his terrible loss.” [6]

An inquest was held in the absence of the boys parents, at the Greyhound Inn on Wednesday the 5th of December 1866 [7] before A. B. Jones, Esq,. and a jury of seven. The jury foreman was none other than the long time friend of John Foster, the Hon Alfred Kennerley, Esq.

The inquest found that the cab was not speeding as previously reported and that the pole brace attached to the collar of the cabs outside horse had bumped the rear of the boys pony causing the boy to fall off and go under the wheels. No blame was attributed to any anyone for the accident.

“…The jury would not call upon the coroner to go through the evidence, and returned a verdict that deceased had been accidentally killed, requesting that it might be noticed by the press that no blame was attached to John Newhey, the driver of the cab, nor did the jury attribute any blame to Mr. Hinsby, junior. The inquest was then closed.” [8]

The funeral of Master John Henry Foster didn’t occur until his parents had arrived back from Melbourne some twelve days later and was interred in the Foster family vault at Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Hobart, on the 15th of December 1866 [9].

 Over 144 years has passed since the tragic event and the windows creation by Ferguson & Urie. The newspaper article from 1867 also mentioned that Alfred Kennerley had also commissioned Ferguson & Urie for other decorative windows:

“…and from A. Kennerley Esq[10], for other decorated windows for the same church…”

The windows donated by Alfred Kennerly are the ‘St Matthew & St Luke’ and ‘St Mark & St Peter’ windows. None of these windows appear to be memorials as such and are likely to have been erected at the same time as the Foster memorial window.

Biographies:

John Foster (1792-1875)

Alfred Kennerley (1810-1897)

End Notes:

[1] John Henry Foster, born 27th January 1860. (date as per memorial at Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Hobart)

[2] The Mercury, Hobart Tasmania, Wednesday 7th August 1867, page 2.

[3] The Hon. Alfred Kennerley. Alfred Kennerley (1810-1897)

[4] The Mercury, Hobart, Tasmania, Tuesday 4th December 1866, page 2.

[5] ibid

[6] ibid

[7] The Mercury, Hobart, Tasmania, Thursday 6th December 1866, page 3.

[8] Ibid

[9] The Mercury, Hobart, Tasmania, Saturday 15th December 1866, page 1.

[10] The Hon. Alfred Kennerley.

Restoration/Conservation:

The Ferguson & Urie windows are undergoing restoration in 2013 by Gavin Merrington. The Foster memorial is the first in the series to be restored and has been removed as at May 2013.

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Jun 18 2012

26-07-1885: St John’s Anglican Church, Port Albert, Victoria.

On the 14th of January 1884 the tiny wooden church of St John’s at Port Albert was burnt to the ground as a result of a bushfire. Less than a month later a tender of £262 was accepted for its re-construction with the official opening ceremony taking place on the 26th of July 1884.

The Ferguson & Urie three light stained glass window in the chancel is dedicated to Foster Griffiths, the infant son of Griffith Griffiths and Charlotte McCall, who died in October 1872. Griffith commissioned Ferguson & Urie of Melbourne to create a memorial window to his son with the intention of it being installed at a church in the nearby town of Foster but at that time a church had not yet been built at the town. After many years had passed without any action to have one erected it was eventually passed to the Reverend Betts who had it installed in the new St John’s Church at Port Albert in 1885. As at 2012 this is the only Ferguson & Urie window known to still exist in a wooden building.

Photos taken 24th April 2011.

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The text in the ribbons of the central window reads: “I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVETH Job 19-25”.

The scene depicting the empty tomb has the text below: “HE IS NOT HERE”. The scene does not specify a particular verse and could be one of four accounts of the resurrection written by Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.

Church Booklet – St John’s Anglican Church Port Albert – Melva F. James, Yarram & District Historical Society 2011, page 20.

“Stained Glass Window – In the Chancel of the Church is a magnificent stained glass window, the principal subject of which is the Saviour’s Resurrection.  The inscription on the bottom states “In Memory of Foster Griffith, died October 5th 1872.” Foster Griffiths was the infant son of Griffith Griffiths who was a prospector at Foster. On the death of his son at the age of six months, Griffiths obtained this window for the nearby town of Foster, but as there was no church in Foster, it was given to Rev. Betts, (who conducted services in the Foster Mechanic’s Hall), and was placed in the Port Albert Church when it was re-built after the fire.”

The window was restored in 1999 and a brass plaque to the left of the window reads:

“This window was restored in memory of Maud Robinson by the ladies guild and her family, in recognition of her service to this church”.

After the restoration of the windows, the memorial text at the bottom of the left lancet no longer has the first few words “In Memory of”, and instead, a duplication of the windows border colours were filled in its place which leads me to assume that this was not any kind of professional restoration but more like a local lead light enthusiast who merely filled the broken gap.

If Griffith had possibly commissioned Ferguson & Urie to create the window in 1873, but not installed until 1885, there would appear to be a 12+ year gap missing in the windows history. The design and grisaille pattern work employed in the window is typical of Ferguson & Urie’s early 1870’s work with the floriated cross. Other extant examples of the floriated cross in Ferguson & Urie windows can be seen at St Luke’s at Yea, St Barnabas at Balwyn, St John’s at Port Fairy, and St James at Drysdale.

Gippsland Times, Vic, Wednesday 29th July 1885. Page 3

“The opening of the new Church of England at Port Albert, which was built to replace the structure that was destroyed by fire in January, 1884, took place on Sunday last, when sermons were preached morning and evening by the Rev. C. P. Thomas, of Rosedale. The choir sang Jackson’s service and hymns appropriate to the occasion in a highly finished manner. There was a large congregation, filling the church both morning and evening to its utmost capacity. Next Sunday the Rev. Mr Groundwater will preach”.

Gippsland Times, Vic, Wednesday 16th January 1884, page 3.

EXTENSIVE FIRES
(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH)
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS)

“PORT ALBERT, Tuesday Evening.

The most destructive fire that has ever occurred in this district was burning from about ten o’clock until sundown yesterday. The fierce north wind commenced to blow early in the morning, and a small fire that sprung up early in the day in the vicinity of the Old Port, increased in power, and came rushing madly on towards Port Albert, sweeping over many miles of country. Mr George Hastings and Mr John Rossiter, of the Standard office, had narrow escapes of losing their houses, situated on the Alberton road, as the wind kept veering round at intervals. However, owing to the timely assistance of a number of residents who turned out, the only loss sustained there was that of a fence enclosing one of Mr Rossiter’s paddocks, the fire being prevented from reaching a stack of hay and house close at hand. From here the fire crossed a metal road, destroying a wooden culvert, and making towards the township. The bells of the English Church were rung as an alarm, but a spark caught the wooden blocks and then the shingle roof, and in less than half an hour the church was completely demolished. The harmonium and seats were saved. The police buildings at Palmerston also caught fire, but they were with great difficulty saved. The escape of the township and the residences in the vicinity of Palmerston is hard to be accounted for”.

South Australian Register, Adelaide, Tuesday 15th January 1884, page 5.

“A destructive bush fire is now raging in the neighbourhood of Port Albert, South Gippsland. The English Church, a wooden building, was seized by the flames and burned to the ground in spite of the great exertions made to save it by the inhabitants.”

The Maffra Spectator, Vic, Thursday 7th February 1884, page 3.

“A special collection will be made at St. John’s, on Sunday evening, to assist in the rebuilding of the church burnt at Port Albert.”

Gippsland Times, Vic, Friday 13th February 1885, page 3.

“The tender of Mr. J. Avery, jun, has been accepted for the erection of the new church of England at Port Albert, the price being £262”.

Gippsland Times, Vic, Friday 29th February 1884, page 3.

“It will be very gratifying to our readers (says the Standard) to learn that the Rev Canon Chase, incumbent of St John’s Church, Melbourne, (acting of course in conjunction with the committee) has paid a very graceful compliment to the Rev. H. A. Betts, who formerly filled the office of curate at St. John’s. Since the destruction of the Port Albert Church by fire Mr Betts has exerted himself in various ways to aid the building fund, and he wrote to some old friends who attended St. John’s Church in Latrobe street during his curacy, asking them for a little private help. But this request appears to have been the signal for combined action, and on Sunday evening last, at a full choral service and harvest thanks-giving, a special collection was made “in aid of the building fund of the rev. H. A. Betts Church at Port Albert,” and the sum of £12 2s was the result. This agreeable surprise comes to us all the more acceptably on account of it’s warm-hearted and spontaneous mode of inception and consummation, and a word of commendation is due to the rev. Canon Chase and his committee (as also to the congregation as a whole) for this proof of good fellowship and kind remembrance towards their late curate, in the practical step they have taken to help a small congregation in the country to erect a building to take the place of that which was reduced to ashes by a bush fire on the 14th ultimo.”

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Feb 20 2012

07-08-1867: Decorative Art. James Urie sojourning in Tasmania.

The following historical tabloid transcriptions contain a wealth of clues for my research on Ferguson & Urie stained glass.

In 1867 James Urie has traveled to Tasmania on the quest to further the company’s interests. By all accounts it would seem that his business acumen was extremely successful and there have been quite a few tabloid articles written which trace his movements. For many years after his venture to Tasmania the company would receive commissions from all over the state.

Each of the obscure clues in the following articles has been researched in great depth and links to other detailed posts on the windows mentioned have been included.

The Mercury, Hobart Tasmania, Wednesday 7th August 1867, page 2.

“DECORATIVE ART – The admirers of art workmanship will be glad to hear that there has for the last couple of weeks been sojourning in Tasmania, a partner of the Victorian firm of Ferguson, Urie, and Lyon, to whom many ecclesiastical and private edifices in this and the neighboring colonies are indebted for some of the finest specimens of pictorial decoration on glass, of which they have yet become the possessors. The objects of the visit have been to fulfil some orders previously given and to obtain others, and it is satisfactory to know that in the latter design the gentleman referred to, Mr. Urie, has not been unsuccessful. The name of the firm of which Mr. Urie is a member will be familiar to all visitors to the late Intercolonial Exhibition in Melbourne, in which a court furnished by them to illustrate the ornamentation of churches constituted a very interesting and pleasing feature. Mr. Urie has brought with him a portfolio of designs prepared in his establishment for the embellishment of ecclesiastical windows, and inspection of which is quite sufficient to establish the claim of the house he represents to consideration at the hands of all persons of cultivated taste, who may have made this branch of the art a subject of special study. The appropriateness with which the conventional religious symbols of the ancient church are introduced, the fidelity with which scriptural incidents are treated, and the beauty of the drawing and colouring combine to render the collection at once suggestive to the mind, and pleasing to the eye; and a familiarity with it, on the part of the rising generation of Tasmanians, would do much towards engendering and fostering a healthy appreciation of one of the highest forms of art workmanship amongst the community. The decorations already supplied by Messrs. Ferguson, Urie, and Lyon to churches in Tasmania, include a stained window erected in St Luke’s Church, Launceston, and another which has been placed in the Episcopalian Church, New Norfolk. The former contains a representation of the “Ascension,” supplemented by groups of the apostles, the entire constituting a most ornate adjunct of the building, and being completed at a cost of £130. The latter has been contributed by Dr. Moor as a memorial of gratitude for his preservation from shipwreck in the City of Launceston, steamer. The central group of figures in the latter represents the baptism of Christ. In addition to these the firm are in receipt of commissions from John Foster, Esq, for a memorial window to be placed in All Saints’ church, Hobart Town, remembrance of the donor’s deceased son, and from A. Kennerley Esq, for other decorated windows for the same church. They have also executed commissions for hall and staircase windows, some of them of highly artistic design, for R. Q. Kermode Esq, of Mona Vale, which afford evidence of the attention paid by them to the profane as well as to the religious style of decoration in the branch of pictorial art to which they devote themselves.”

Geelong Advertiser, Vic, Thursday 15th August 1867, page 3.

“A Tasmanian paper thus refers to the success of an enterprising Melbourne firm: -“Mr Urie, of the firm of Ferguson, Urie and Lyon, of Melbourne, who, it will be remembered, designed and executed one of the stained-glass decorations in St. John’s Church, is now visiting Hobart Town, having fitted up a window in the Episcopalian Church, New Norfolk, which has been contributed by Dr Moore as a memorial of gratitude for his preservation from shipwreck in the City of Launceston steamer. The central group of figures represents the baptism of Christ. In addition to these the firm are in receipt of commissions from John Foster, Esq., for a memorial window to be placed in All Saints’ Church, Hobart Town, in remembrance of the donor’s deceased son, and from. A. Kennerley, Esq., for other decorated windows for the same church. They have also executed commissions for hall and staircase windows, some of them of highly artistic design, for R. Q. Kermode, Esq, of Mona Vale.”

All the windows mentioned in the historical articles are extant:

1. St John’s window Launceston (incorrectly mentioned as St Luke’s in the first article).

2. The Episcopalian Church, New Norfolk, is St Matthews and has the Moore window.

3. The Foster memorial window at All Saints Anglican Hobart.

4. The A. Kennerley windows are in the ‘Kennerley’ aisle in All Saints.

5. The Kermode window at Mona Vale is extant but only copyright photos exist.

Also see: 13-08-1867: James Urie visits Tasmania on Ferguson and Urie business.

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