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The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy Windows
The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy Windows
2023
The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy is a secondary free school in Oldham for pupils aged 11 to 16. It is named after Oldham-born artist Brian Clarke, who served as Patron of the school.
In 2023, the Academy moved into its newly constructed building in central Oldham. Clarke created six large stained glass windows for the site. For these works, he revisited key moments from his career, incorporating glass panels and motifs from previous commissions and series.
Four of the windows incorporate elements from the 1980 to 1981 commission for the Olympus European Headquarters in Hamburg. When the building was scheduled for demolition in 2016, Clarke salvaged the stained glass windows he had created for its façade. In Oldham, he repurposed three white windows and one blue window, all featuring the grid motif he was intensively exploring at the time of the Olympus commission. The blue window now incorporates poppies, one of Clarke’s recurring motifs and a reference to his extensive ‘Vespers’ series.
Another window features a geometric motif inspired by Islamic ornament. Clarke used the motif in the commission for the Royal Mosque, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and the screen Riyadh. This is combined with English oak leaves, used in Clarke’s projects such as the Coach House Spa at the Beaverbrook Hotel. Both motifs were also used in the 2025 Concordia project.
The final window features a brick pattern and wisteria flowers after the screen Order & Chaos. It references Clarke’s wife and fellow artist Liz Finch, whose own practice often engages with brick imagery.
In addition to the stained glass, Clarke also designed the Academy’s logo. This features a stylised mill, a recurring symbol in his work and a reference to Oldham’s industrial heritage.