Cambridge Military Hospital Chapel Panels

The panels around this room are part of a scheme designed by Mary Watts during the First World War to decorate the Cambridge Military Hospital Chapel at Aldershot. The scheme illustrates the biblical story of three young men condemned by a Babylonian king to death in a fiery furnace. The panels displayed here show angels carrying the words of the prayer which the youths offered to God: their prayer was answered and they were saved.

Following the closure of the Chapel in 1996, the wall panels were removed from their original location and specifically conserved for the opening of Watts Studios. Layers of overpaint were removed, revealing finely executed brushwork.

Much like the Watts Chapel interior, Mary Watts may have collaborated with colleagues from the Compton Pottery in the making of these decorative gesso panels. The panels are made using the same techniques found in the interior of the Watts Chapel. You can learn more about the techniques used by Mary Watts on the touch table in this room.