Sir John Templeton

The west window of Henry VII's Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey especially honours Sir John Marks Templeton (1912-2008), a very generous benefactor to the restoration of this chapel. The heraldic stained glass window was devised by Donald Buttress, the Abbey Surveyor, with Herbert Chesshyre and designed by John Lawson. The glass was made by Goddard & Gibbs and the window was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II on 19th October 1995 at the completion of the restoration. The coats of arms of the monarch and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh are shown in the centre, with those of Prince Charles and the Order of the Bath. The chapel has been associated with the knights of the Bath since 1725 and Prince Charles is Great Master of the Order. Also included are coats of arms, cyphers and initials of major donors or those concerned with fundraising. The inscription reads:

Sir John Templeton, benefactor. Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house

Sir John was born in Tennessee USA and educated at Yale university. He went to Oxford as Rhodes Scholar and began his career in Wall Street. He created the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion and founded a college at Oxford. His first wife was Judith Folk and they had three children and his second wife was Irene Butler. In 1987 he was knighted. On 17th May 2009 a memorial service was held for him at the Abbey.

In the apsidal chapels are two smaller heraldic windows, designed by Alfred Fisher and P. Archer, to members of his family who were also major donors -Vella Handly Templeton and John Templeton junior and his wife Josephine Gargiulo.

In the chapel vestibule are eight enamelled metal plates inscribed for Sir John and other members of his family who were supporters of the restoration appeal - Judith, Vella and Harvey, Heather, John and Josephine, Jennifer, Christopher, Virginia and Susan, and Irene, Wendy and Malcolm.

Further reading

"Sir John Templeton" by Robert L. Herrman, 1998