The Kempe Society, which was formed in 1984, unites the increasing number of people who admire the work of this man and his studios, whether having a layman's interest in stained glass and church furnishings or a professional interest. It is due in no small measure to their efforts that the reputation of Kempe and his work, which has suffered perhaps more harshly than his contemporaries from mis-informed and predjudiced comment, is regaining pre-eminence.

The Society, which draws its membership country wide, maintains contact with them by means of a quarterly newsletter rather than by meetings, though it encourages members to organise local outings to foster a more tangible spirit of membership. Membership is annual and those joining will receive all copies of the Newsletter for that year. The Society is administered, through its Constitution, by a Management Committee of Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer.

The aims of the Kempe Society can be summarised as follows :-

• To encourage the fitting recognition of the work of Charles Kempe and his firm.
• To encourage the preservation and maintenance of Kempe windows and church furnishings.
• To advocate the re-installation elsewhere or sensitive re-use of Kempe windows and furnishings which may become the victims of redundancy.
• To establish as complete a pictorial record and descriptive record as possible of Kempe's oeuvre.
• To provide a forum for discussion on items of mutual interest.
• To circulate a quarterly newsletter called Wheatsheaf to members.

Our late Patron, Margaret Stavridi, was the daughter of John W Lisle who, joining Kempe's studio in the 1880's, became his protégé, confidant and designer and eventually after the death of Kempe and in accordance with the will, a Director of C E Kempe & Co Ltd. Our present Patron, John Lisle, is John W Lisle’s grand-son.

Among the activities and achievements to date of the Kempe Society mention can be made of the following:-

-           150th Birthday Celebrations of Charles Kempe (1987) with exhibitions in Durham, Southwark and Chichester Cathedrals, St.Botolph's Church Aldgate, London and the Hall of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers, London.
-           Biennial Members Weekends in Chichester, York, Chester, Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford, Durham, Nottingham, Winchester, Liverpool and Ovingdean Sussex.
-           Publication of Master of Glass by Margaret Stavridi (1988), the first book on Charles Eamer Kempe.
-           Production of microfiche copies of the seven volumes of the Commission Registers for the Society             and the V&A Museum.
-           Increasing collection of original archive material.
-           Publication of The Complete Corpus of Kempe Glass in the UK and Ireland (2000).
-           Formation of the Kempe Trust (1992) to aid the preservation and maintenance of Kempe's oeuvre.