REFLEXIONES

Friday, August 23 2024

A JEWEL IN THE COUNTRY

The gorgeous countryside of England has always been appealing to me, ever since I saw it for the first time during a drive to visit the parents of a friend back in 1972. I had seen the countryside before in films; it was always beautiful and serene. That impression has never changed, although I know it is very romantic and part of the mental construct I have of English lifestyle. Uncle Ronnie took us on a brief drive in the late 70s, which only enhanced the appeal. In 2018 Xavier and I took a short trip that made us long for a different lifestyle which only exists in the movies or in our imagination. But those fabulously green rolling hills, the thick pastures, the small forests, the appealing meadows filled with wild flowers, all speak of a way of life and a love of nature that is enthralling and appealing.

Sabâ and I had the opportunity to spend a few hours looking for a chapel near the town of Tonbridge in Essex, requiring us to take a train from Charing Cross Station to this village, about 40 minutes away from Central London. The trip was smooth, fast, gliding and uneventful. At the Tonbridge station, Sabâ asked the ticket agent where we could get a taxi for Tudeley and the man, generously and courteously, left his window, walked outside and around the corner and took us to the taxi stand where he pointed out that not everyone knew the place where we wanted to go. Apparently immigrants have been moving into the area and working as cab drivers and they are not very familiar with it so the agent wanted to make sure we got into the right cab.

The driver he chose pointed us to the driver in front of him, who was in line for the hire. We boarded the cab and off we went to All Saint’s Church in Tudeley, about a 10 minute ride from the station.

A place of worship has existed in Tudeley since the seventh century. The sandstone footings of the nave and tower may date from before the Norman conquest. The existing structure was created during the 13th and 14th centuries. It has been restored many times and now stands in all its glory in the middle of the English countryside.

All Saints Church in Tudeley is the only church in the world that has all its windows in stained glass designed by Marc Chagall

On 19 September 1963, Sarah the daughter of Sir Henry and Lady D’Avigdor-Goldsmid, who owned a house nearby, was drowned in a sailing accident. In her memory, her parents commissioned the artist to design a stained glass window for the church; it was installed in 1967. When Chagall arrived for the dedication of the east window and saw the church for the first time, according to the story, he exclaimed "C'est magnifique! Je les ferai tous!" Over the next ten years Chagall designed the remaining eleven windows in watercolor; these were made in collaboration with the glassworker Charles Marq in his workshop at Reims. The windows were all installed by 1985. Installing some windows meant removing some of the Victorian memorial glass that was moved to the vestry at the back of the church.

The scenes represent various biblical passages with the nave window showing the drowning of the girl in a very dramatic way on the lower right. The church is very is small, with only eight rows of pews and a long nave by the altar. The colors of the windows go from the yellows to the reds, blues, blue greens so characteristic of Chagall. The day was sunny and we were able to see the intensity and flow of the design and the colors and inventiveness in all their glory.

We are used to seeing Chagall’s work in large monumental spaces, like the Paris Opera ceiling, or in ample spaces like museums. The intimacy of this chapel and the compact scale of the windows creates a link of closeness with the artist that speaks volumes of the love and care he put into this work. Each of the windows works in consonance with the nave window, the largest of them, and fills the viewer with sadness at the loss of life of the girl and the admiration at the love bestowed on her by her parents and the artist.

The Church is not guarded. It is open to visitors without cost and seems out of the way and isolated. Yet it has survived all these years with respect and veneration. There was just a small group of attentive visitors led by a lecturer who acted as if she owned the church.

Our local driver had told us that he had never visited the church. Despite Sabâ’s cajoling entreaties to convince him to come inside with us for a few minutes and take a look, she had no success. He told us that he had not gotten around to it yet and was “leaving it for later, to visit with the wife”. We, on the other hand, had just travelled eight thousand miles to see this incredible creation in the middle of these extraordinary fields.

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi, to coin a phrase…