As the festive season approaches, the usual quest for appropriate Christmas cards gets under way, and, yes – you can find some cards using designs by Margaret Agnes Rope.
They are published and printed by the Carmelite convent at Quidenham, which houses the community of nuns of which Marga was a member (as Sister Margaret Of The Mother Of God) between 1923 and her death in 1953. The nuns at Quidenham still honour her memory.

For sale

Six cards featuring works by Marga feature in the convent’s shop catalogue this year. Many of the old favourites however are not there, having sold out, so not currently in stock. (If you want to be reminded of those, click here to see an article about them).

Her two most well-known nativity scenes, each with a creamy layer of snow on the ground, are on sale though. The Word Made Flesh card shows a window that actually is not available to be viewed by the public (see photo right) because it is inside the ‘enclosed area’ of the convent.
The Trinity Chapel Nativity card shows the medievalist-style altar-front that Marga created for a side-chapel in Shrewsbury St Mary’s.
And the Come & Adore card shows Marga in sentimental mood. In fact, this one is different from the previous two in that it does not show one of her substantial artworks, but is one of the little cards she created in-house for her fellow nuns and her family. It shows a touching moment in which a child in Edwardian dress peers into the crib as Mary watches on.

Crib

The last three of the Quidenham-printed cards are are relatively new additions to the catalogue and are actually made from photographs. These show the life-size painted Nativity figures put together and created by Marga for the nuns’ Christmas services at Quidenham. This collection of figures – about a dozen of them – was actually not seen in public until 2016, when the convent loaned them to the Margaret Rope Exhibition at Shrewsbury Museum. Until then, the figures had never been seen outside the nuns’ private chapel.

Shepherds Adoring, Crib with Foliage and Epiphany Crib are in this latter series. Curiously, the shadows and the lighting that the photographer has chosen to use give the scenes an ethereal appearance, making them quite unusual purchases – and worth sending to those friends who enjoy something a little left-field.

Tor card

There’s one more card to mention: Our Saviour is Born, which is taken from the Nativity roundel in by the chapel at Quidenham. The outline graphic was possibly designed by Marga, but the glass was created by Marga’s cousin M.E. Aldrich Rope, who was younger than Marga, so it is very much in a more mid-century style.

Buying

Quidenham like to keep their prices nice & low, so all the cards are remarkably cheap, at £1 or less, and can be bought online (mail-order available).

Quidenham’s online buying process is straightforward & unfussy, which is always a relief.

… and for the Big Present…

If you’re looking for presents also, don’t forget Painter In Light, the new & revised edition of the photo-book of Margaret Rope’s works. Any stained-glass fan will enjoy it.
Again, it is priced remarkably cheaply for what it is: it retails at £15.
For details on Painter In Light buying options, click here to see our previous article about the book.

The book “Margaret Rope : Painter in Light” is currently available direct from the author free of p&p charges. See: http://www.arthur.rope.clara.net/books.htm.

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