A notable event in 2021 was the return of the restored vestry window after delays caused
by the Covid situation. A few years earlier it had been removed and placed in store to
save it from further damage as the vestry wall cracked and move away from the chancel.
To protect it from it from further damage, the restored window is now housed in a bronze
frame and mounted internally with external glazing protecting it.
The window consists of fragments of medieval glass incorporated into later glazing.
History
‘The most important patrons of the new church were probably the Scales family; initially Robert, first Lord
Scales (d. 1305) and his wife Isabel who had been a Burnel by birth.
The two shields can be identified as: 6 scallops for Lord Scales and lion rampant for Burnel.
The 2 surviving figures are the Virgin holding a book and St John. They are probably from a crucifixion
scene, possibly from an east window. There would have been the figure of Christ between them. The
missing head from St John suggests that it was deliberately defaced by carefully removing the head to
save the rest of the light from destruction by iconoclasts.
The technique of glazing the old fragments is consistent with glazing C 1300-10.’
From: Penny Hebgin-Barnes – notes on the date of the glass.
The window was originally in the north wall of the chancel and was moved to its current position when the vestry was built in 1875. The latest restoration confirms that some of the glass and lead work dates to 1300-10.
Restoration was funded by a grant from Historic England Covid-19 Emergency Fund and part of the Felicity Webster.