George Washington Brownlow
George Washington Brownlow is part of Belchamp Walter's history. He lived and worked in the village and many of his works can be seen in St. Mary's Church, Belchamp Walter.
George Washington Brownlow died in 1876 and is buried in St. Mary's Churchyard.
Why the name George Washington?
The painting on the altar (below) of is obviously inspired by the Caravaggio (the painting in the Uffizi).
The Caravaggio:
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Supper at Emmaus - another painting on the altar at St. Mary's

Again, another "study" on Caravaggio's version.
There are many paintings on this subject and Caravaggio has more than one.

The Wikipedia page for the Road to Emmaus says:
Emmaus (Imwas) - Occupied territory West Bank
Canada Park
From Suffolk Artists website:
The exhibits were:
Note the spelling of Plaiting as in the 1875 painting. The spelling "platting" is used by Suffolk artists website.
Continuing with the text from Suffolk Artists:
At that time (1876) Samuel John St. Clere Raymond's father John Mayne St. Clere was still alive and it is assumed that JMSR commissioned George to paint for the Church. The memorial window is not dated apart from the date of GWB's death (1876) but if installed by SJSR it would date from 1893.
The stained glass in the Chancel (post 1893) and Tower (1857) are thought to be older and attributed to William Wailes (1808 - 1881). This is not consistant with the dedications on the glass itself as Wailes died in 1881.
The 4 Apostles
As seen on the pulpit
Click an image for more detail.
The Stained Glass in the Chantry arch
This group of windows were inserted into the Chantry arch in memory of George Washington Brownlow by Samuel John St. Clere.

Why George Washington?
The Christian names George Washington have not been explained.
GWB was one of the school management committee of the New School House, Belchamp Walter in 1872.
George Washington, the first president of the USA, was a young military man with the Virginia Company in 1759.
The Wikipedia page for President Washington says;
The American Washington was alive around 150 years before the George Washington of Belchamp Walter. There is no indication that there is a connection between the Brownlow family and America.
Blue Plaque
There is a blue plaque on the cottage that George Washington Brownlow lived when he was a resident of Belchamp Walter. The plaque is on the wall of Fern Lodge, North Road (at the crossroads), Belchamp Walter. There are incorrect statements that he lived at Lodge Villa and Rutland Cottage.

ChatGPT and George Washington Brownlow
There are things that ChatGPT doesn't seem to recognize that I feature on this and other pages on this website. For example, the fact that he is buried in the Churchyard of St. Mary's Belchamp Walter, that he painted Abraham sacrificing Issac and Supper at Emmaus on the Altar.
The AI doesn't seem to be aware of the subjects of the paintings on the Altar and it is likely that when this page is indexed it will be picked up for those making queries about George Washington Brownlow.
Sally Woodcock's Treatment Report - 2011
Sally Woodcock was commissioned to inspect and restore the Brownlow paintings on the Pulpit and Altar in 2010/2011.
The author has a copy of her report and it is in the process of being scanned and will be avialable for visitors to review themselves.
An interesting observation is that the painting on the Alter of Supper at Emmaus is described as The Last Supper. On consultation with a previous Church Warden, Terry A. Raybould (1994-2012), he did not recollect that there was a discussion on this. The painting was ecribed in the first Church Guide by S. P. Raymond, in 1964, as "The Last Supper" but this was changed to "Supper at Emmaus" by the time the second Church guide was compiled.
Straw Plaiting
George's artistic output as we see in Belchamp Walter is mainly of an ecclesiastical nature.

The page on the Coogeshall Museum's website describes Straw Plaiting. This would appear to have been a true "cottage industry" of the Belchamp Walter region in the 1850's.
Article from 1858 Suffolk Free Press newspaper archive November 24th 1859