Edward Aveling Green was born on 22nd March 1842 in Woburn, Bedfordshire, the youngest child of John Green, a successful solicitor, and Frances, his devoutly religious wife. Edward was given a double-barrelled name, ’Aveling Green’ in memory of his maternal great grandfather, Reverend Thomas Aveling (1749-1790).
At the age of fifteen Edward moved with his family to ‘Berrystead’, a large house with an adjoining farm and forty acres of land in the village of Eversholt, on the opposite side of the historic Woburn Estate. He immediately formed a strong attachment to his new home and its rural setting, surrounded by fields and countryside.
Edward was tutored privately at home until the age of 16 and then sent away to finish his education at St. Peter’s College, Radley. His family felt this to be a suitable choice for a child of Edward’s ‘delicate’ disposition. Founded only a decade earlier in 1847, Radley was a new type of school for boys “based on Christian principles of brotherliness, reinforced by the beauty of the environment and of the furnishings and objects which surrounded them”.
On leaving school Edward took up an apprenticeship with an engineering firm in Manchester. Life in Manchester following the industrial revolution was a stark contrast to life at Radley and his home in Eversholt. His sensitive and artistic nature made it difficult for him to adapt, and he often felt like a “square peg in a round hole”. To his credit, Edward endured his apprenticeship for eight years, learning to appreciate the creative aspects of engineering and spending his spare time drawing, painting and learning music.
In his mid-twenties he decided it was time to follow his heart and pursue his artistic interests. He found lodgings in Bloomsbury, London, near Henry Blackman, the author, publisher and editor of ‘Academy Notes’, to whom he was indirectly related by the marriage of one of his sisters. Blackman was well connected in the art world and introduced him to Thomas Heatherley, the principal of the Heatherley School of Fine Art. Edward enrolled at the school and was tutored there until, aged 28, he was awarded a place at the Royal Academy Schools.
Having completed his training, Edward worked on various commissions in his London studio, occasionally returning to ‘Berrystead’ to visit his family. He had a very close relationship with his sister Mary and their mother Frances, who constantly worried about him and disliked her favourite son being away from home. After Frances’ death in 1875, no longer feeling restrained by his mother’s anxiety, Edward took the opportunity to explore Europe and embarked on a ‘grand tour’ of France, Italy and Germany, returning to England in 1877.
During his career, Edward gifted many works to various churches with which he had family connections. His brother Lingard was rector of St. Gregory, Sudbury, another was rector of All Saints, East Budleigh in Devon and a close family friend was rector of St. Michael’s, Derby. The first ‘Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society’ catalogue (1888) lists two frescoes by Aveling Green from “a series of figures for the Church of St. Gregory, Sudbury”. These frescoes were exhibited alongside the work of other eminent artists of the period including Walter Crane, Edward Burne-Jones and Ford Maddox Brown.
Following the death of his father in 1885, Edward’s visits to ‘Berrystead’ became more and more frequent. His sister Mary had taken over the running of the house and they valued each other’s companionship. He converted one of the barns at ‘Berrystead’ into a studio where he was able to continue working whilst away from London, enjoying the opportunity to escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Saint John the Baptist Church, Eversholt, stained glass window in the South Aisle: ’Young Christ Among the Elders’ (1885) by Edward Aveling Green
The brass memorial plaque below reads:
“To the glory of God: Also in memory of John Green M.A. and of Frances Mary his wife: John Green was warden of this church from 1858 to 1885”
This was just one of the many artefacts that Edward went on to create for his ‘home’ church, which included wood carvings, stained glass, sculptures, furniture and paintings. A few more examples of his work are shown below:
The carved reredos (altarpiece) and painted altar front (1908): The wood used to create the reredos came from some old, unused, Sunday School benches. It was dedicated by the Archdeacon of Bedford on 22nd December 1909.
.jpg)
By the early 1900s, Edward was approaching his seventies. He had received permission to decorate the interior walls of the church, but was no longer young enough, nor had the desire, to climb ladders and spend long hours working on scaffolding. Instead he painted biblical scenes in sections on huge canvases in his studio, which were then transported to the church and mounted on the walls. At first glance visitors to the church assume they are murals, painted in situ.
Chancel Arch: “Second Advent of Christ”: There are 61 figures in the painting. A village girl Mary Taylor, is reputed to have been the model for the angels (and also the model for all the other paintings in the church!).”
.jpg)
South Aisle: Painting of Seven Angels holding musical instruments, with flowers and birds from the different seasons (circa 1910). Each of the seven angels represents a season or time of day, seven being the number of perfection according to the Old Testament.
Tower Arch : “Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the garden at Eden” circa. 1910. Oil on canvas mounted onto the wall. The painting depicts Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the garden, an angel with a flaming sword bars their return.
The last known work Edward completed was a three foot, bronze statue of St. Michael the Archangel, patron saint of soldiers. He gave it as a gift to stand atop the newly erected war memorial that commemorated those villagers who had lost their lives in the Great War (and later, the Second World War). The statue was unveiled at a ceremony in 1921.
On 5th August 1930, Edward Aveling Green died, aged 88, with Mabel at his side. He was buried with his parents and sister, Mary, in the churchyard of Saint John the Baptist, Eversholt, not far from the south door and within sight of the war memorial.
Few of his works survive to this day other than those he gifted to the church and village he was proud to call his home. For nearly one hundred years the church interior has provided a gallery for his work and a memorial of his life, hidden away in the Bedfordshire countryside.
There was very little information available about the life and works of Edward Aveling Green until a few years ago. In 2012 Valerie Bramwell, his great-great niece, contacted the Eversholt Parochial Church Council. Following the death of a family member, various photos, letters and other information relating to Edward had come into her possession. She was interested to visit his former home at ‘Berrystead’ and see his work in the village church.
The PCC put Valerie in touch with me as I had previously done some research and recording of Edward’s artefacts. We met and had a most enjoyable couple of days together visiting ‘Berrystead’ and viewing his work. We shared our notes and subsequently put together a printed booklet that is sold to raise funds for the church. It was wonderful at last to know the history of one of the village’s greatest benefactors, whose creative legacy is such an integral part our church.
It was with a heavy heart that I recently wrote to Valerie to let her know that in June 2019 our beautiful bronze statue of St. Michael was stolen from atop the village war memorial. Despite the fact the village launched a media campaign to try to find its whereabouts and retrieve it, so far we have been unsuccessful. All we can do now is hope that one day St. Michael will find his way home to our Bedfordshire village…
* * *
Venetia Barrington is a freelance artist, illustrator, photographer and researcher living in Bedfordshire, England. She studied art in York, and has a bachelor’s degree in fashion design from Saint Martins School of Art, London. Venetia has a keen interest in researching local history, and also British plant-lore. She designed two stained glass windows which can be seen alongside Edward Aveling Green’s work in Saint John the Baptist Church, Eversholt.