91Èȱ¬

Sandham Memorial Chapel was built after World War One by the artist Sir Stanley Spencer, inspired by his experiences as a medical orderly and on the frontline. It contains a series of large scale canvas paintings which focus on moments of everyday life in which Spencer found spiritual meaning, rather than the horrors of war.

Art patrons, Mary and Louis Behrend, financed the project but allowed Spencer free rein with the design. Their only stipulation was that it was built in Burghclere where they lived – although Stanley would have preferred it to be near his home in Cookham.

Originally called the Oratory of All Souls, it was latterly dedicated to Harry Sandham; Mary Behrend’s brother, who died in 1920 as a result of malaria contracted whilst serving in Macedonia and Salonika. By then it was too late for him to be recognised as war dead, so the Chapel was renamed in his honour.

Stanley came from a large but close-knit family who maintained contact throughout the war by corresponding regularly with their sister, Florence. The surviving letters tell the story of their lives, hopes, fears and how war affected them.

Location: Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere (near Newbury) RG20 9JT
Image: ‘Bedmaking’ by Stanley Spencer, copyright the Estate of Stanley Spencer, courtesy of National Trust.
Extract from William Spencer’s poem voiced by Father Paul Martin, and extracts from Percy Spencer’s letters voiced by Nick Johnson. Extracts from family papers courtesy of Berkshire Record Office.
Presented by 91Èȱ¬ reporter, Janice Hunter

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