THE paintings in a north Hampshire chapel will feature in a television series about British art.

News broadcaster Jon Snow describes Sandham Memorial Chapel, near Burghclere, as his “obsession” in an episode of Channel 4’s six-part series The Genius of British Art.

The tiny chapel, in Harts Lane, is run by the National Trust and houses a series of large-scale paintings by acclaimed 20th century artist Stanley Spencer.

Mr Snow, who is presenting an episode entitled The Art of War on November 7 at 7pm, has chosen to feature Spencer’s paintings, which were specially created for the memorial chapel and are a highly personal depiction of Spencer’s experiences while serving as a medical orderly and soldier in England and Salonika during the Great War.

Snow said: “Had his paintings been for a Wren church in the city, Spencer might even now be celebrated as the creator of our own Sistine Chapel. From the outside, the Sandham Memorial Chapel is unremarkable. Step inside and you are drawn into an account of war no artist has ever previously conjured.”

The chapel is named after Lieutenant Harry Willoughby Sandham who died in 1920 as a result of an illness he had contracted during the Macedonian campaign in the First World War.

Amanda Findlay, National Trust custodian of the chapel, said: “Jon is one of the chapel’s biggest fans, but Spencer’s paintings make a huge and often profound impression on so many of our visitors. Autumn is a particularly poignant time to visit with associations of war and remembrance, but the paintings also have plenty to make people smile. I see the paintings every day and never stop seeing something new.”

The six-part Genius of British Art series is currently airing on Sundays at 7pm, with each episode presented by a different person.

More information about the chapel is available by calling 01635 278394 or online at nationaltrust.org.uk