Glass and Ice: The Scott Window at St Peter’s Church, Binton

1. introduction

Robert Falcon Scott’s journey to the South Pole during the 1910 - 1913 Terra Nova expedition, and the resulting deaths of all five members of the Polar Party, is an episode of history that has etched itself onto the cultural landscape of Britain. Max Jones, The Last Great Quest: Captain Scott's Antarctic Sacrifice (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 8. The publishing of Scott’s journals after his death, and the release of Apsley Cherry-Garrard’s account of the Terra Nova expedition in 1922, entrenched the expedition in the public consciousness, with both books becoming bestsellers. Max Jones, “Introduction,” in Journals: Captain Scott's Last Expedition, Robert Falcon Scott, ed. Max Jones, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), xxxviii-xxxix; Peter Hulme and Tim‎ Youngs, The Cambridge Companion to Travel Writing, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2002), 7. A wide volume of popular and academic literature, discussing the reasons for the tragedy and evaluating Scott’s skills as an explorer, has since been published. In 1979, a scathing criticism from author Roland Huntford dented his cultural popularity, however this characterisation has itself received criticism from academics. Karen May and George Lewis, “‘A Kind of Suicide’? Errors and Misconceptions in Roland Huntford’s Account of the Last Days of Scott’s Polar Party,” Polar Record 50, no. 2 (2014): 163.

This essay uses the case study of the Scott Window at St. Peter's, Binton, to analyse the artistic memorialisation of the tragedy - considering how the window’s materiality affects its ability to be a realistic depiction of both the Antarctic environment and the historic events depicted.

2. creation of the window

The news of the tragedy had a deep impact in Britain, with Scott seen as a martyred hero, who represented the best of British values. Jones, The Last Great Quest, 102. There was an outpouring of support with £75,000 raised for the families of those who had died, with £18,000 set aside for the erection of memorials. “£34,000 for Relatives of Antarctic Heroes,” editorial, Stratford-upon-Avon Herald, Jul 11, 1913. It is unclear if the window was erected using these funds or the personal funds of the window’s commissioner, Lloyd Harvey Bruce, who had become both the Rector of St Peter’s and Scott’s brother-in-law in 1908. A collection for expenses was taken at the window’s dedication ceremony, which suggests some level of public funding. Scott and his wife Kathleen, Bruce’s sister, frequently visited the church and local area so were well known in Binton. The window was designed by John Lisle, the chief draughtsman at C.E. Kempe & Co. The church community had an existing relationship with the firm, with the two Kempe windows (fig. 18-19) in the nave dedicated in 1909 and 1913 respectively. This suggests that the firm was therefore the obvious choice for the new commission. Lisle took inspiration from Scott’s published journals and Herbert Ponting’s photography on the Terra Nova expedition, getting the design personally approved by Kathleen Scott. The window was dedicated September 25th 1915. Hannah Scott (mother of Robert Falcon), Lloyd Bruce and Rosslyn Bruce (another brother-in-law) were present but Kathleen Scott was absent, at the time devoting herself to her wartime factory work.

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