Clayton and Bell

Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient workshops of English stained glass during the latter half of the 19th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (London, 1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (Silton, Dorset, 1832–95). The company was founded in 1855 and continued until 1993. Their windows are found throughout the United Kingdom, in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Clayton and Bell's commercial success was due to the high demand for stained-glass windows at the time, their use of the best quality glass available, the excellence of their designs and their employment of efficient factory methods of production.

They collaborated with many of the most prominent Gothic Revival architects and were commissioned by John Loughborough Pearson to provide the windows for the newly constructed Truro Cathedral.

Background

During the Medieval period, from the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 until the 1530s, much stained glass was produced and installed in churches, monasteries and cathedrals. Two historic events had brought an end to this and the destruction of most of the glass- the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII and the Puritan era under Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century.