the stained glass Windows

A Survey of the Windows of The Round Church, Cambridge
Copyright Graham Parker 2003
 

1 History of the Church

Abbot Reinald  granted a site  in what is now Bridge Street, Cambridge to the “Fraternity of the Holy Sepulchre” to build there “in honour of God and the Holy Sepulchre”. The church the Fraternity built is commonly known as the “Round Church”, and round churches as a rule are connected with the Orders which were founded to guard the Holy Land. However, whether this particular fraternity had any direct link to Jerusalem is not clear, as nothing else appears to be known about it.

There is also some uncertainty about the date of construction of Holy Sepulchre, but Pevsner states that the details suggest a date not earlier than 1130 . Holy Sepulchre was not built as a parish church, but as a wayside chapel, or oratory. The site was chosen because it is just south of Magdalene Bridge over the River Cam, which marks the spot where the old Roman road from Colchester forded the river.

The Fraternity, however, was short lived and in the mid-13th century Holy Sepulchre had become a parish church served by Augustinian monks from the nearby Hospital of St John . It remained one until 1994. By then it had become too small for the congregation who moved to St Andrew the Great Church. It is now run by Christian Heritage and is used as centre for introducing visitors to the intellectual and moral force of Christianity.

2 The Church Architecture

The church consists of a circular nave, a chancel with aisles and an octagonal turret containing two bells. The circular part of the church appears wholly Norman, but is in fact mainly due to the restoration of 1841. Atkinson says, “There is not one old stone left”. The west doorway has three orders of colonnettes  with scalloped capitals and zigzags, and crenellations in the voussoirs .

12th Century Church: The windows have been renewed throughout. The interior has eight thick round piers with many-scalloped strip-capitals. Above the gallery which has twin openings, vaulting-shafts carry a ribbed octopartite dome. The ambulatory is vaulted with unmoulded rectangular ribs except in the east bay and the one to its right. These two have zigzag mouldings either side of a roll-moulding. The chancel, which has north and south aisles of equal width, is wider than the diameter of the Norman church and belongs almost entirely to the 1841 restoration.

Pevsner says there is a “Good C 15 roof in the N aisle on angel supports”. The round nave of this church reflects the shape of the original Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which the Emperor Constantine had built over the site of the empty tomb of Jesus. The shape was designed to allow pilgrims to walk round the tomb. In Europe the Ambulatory of round churches is felt to reflect the circle of life, death and resurrection .

15th Century Enlargement: Although there is structural evidence that the chancel was rebuilt in the mid-13th century in an Early English style, the first proven extension was in the 15th century, although the date and circumstances are not known . It is clear from existing prints such as Figure 4 that three-light windows in an Early Perpendicular style were inserted to replace the earlier Romanesque ones. A two story octagonal castellated bell-tower was also added. This had three light windows in the lower storey and two-light ones above.

The 1841 Collapse: The tower put immense additional strain on the walls and in August 1841 part of the round nave was collapsing, making restoration essential. The Cambridge Camden Society  offered to undertake this on the condition they were given a free hand. At this period the Society believed it was “no sign of weakness to copy acknowledged perfection” by which they meant the early medieval style.

The Society believed that the altar was the most important feature in a church. The chief requirements of a church were a nave and a chancel, separated by a chancel arch, and differentiated by the degree of ornamentation and, on the outside, different roofs. The other essential features were the porch, attached to the side of the nave, and the sacristy or vestry, attached to the chancel but expressed by its own roof on the outside. All these features can be clearly seen in the plan for the restored “Round Church”.

The Church after the 1843 Restoration

The Camden Society also espoused the idea of using church architecture to stimulate a return to the ancient purity of religion, so they demanded archaeological accuracy. To achieve this they used the architect Anthony Salvin , whom Pevsner described as “the most successful restorer and purveyor of castles in the second half of the 19th Century”. He replaced the Perpendicular insertions with windows in the Norman style. He removed the embattlemented tower, and replaced it with a bell turret with a conical roof. He also completely rebuilt the chancel.

The restoration of Holy Sepulchre was undertaken as a practical demonstration of the principles of the Cambridge Camden Society. However they were soon embroiled in controversy. They were accused of “reviving medieval superstition” . This came to head when the Society placed a stone altar and credence table in the chancel. The litigious local vicar  protested to the ecclesiological courts and the altar was replaced by the present wooden one. As a result of this controversy the Society almost collapsed like the church is had restored. It eventually changed its name to the Ecclesiological Society, and never again sponsored restoration projects.

 3 History of the Window Glass

There would have been no money for glass in the original 12th century church. The Fraternity’s poverty is shown by the original construction which consists of a stone shell around a rubble core. Even when it became a parish church inventories suggest the church possessed only the essential items. In these circumstances the window spaces would have probably been covered by oiled cloth at best.

The first glass seems to have been installed during the 15th century remodelling. As Adams has said, “There is no doubt that once the windows were filled with glass of the old workmanship such as can be seen in King’s College Chapel, but it suffered the same fate as did nearly all ecclesiastical works of art in the time of Cromwell” . As a result of this destruction the only evidence we have for the earliest windows is in the journal of William Dowsing.

William Dowsing  was a Suffolk born official appointed by the Earl of Manchester in December 1643 to visit churches in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk and enforce the parliamentary ordinance requiring the demolition of altars and “superstitious pictures”. A contemporary royalist writer described Dowsing as one who “goes about the country like a Bedlam breaking glass windows”.

The term “superstitious pictures” needs some explanation. “Pictures” could mean images of any kind whether they were painted or carved. “Superstitious”, according to the ordinance Dowsing was enforcing, was applied to any image of any member of the Trinity, the Virgin Mary, and any angel or saint, or to any inscription requesting prayers for the deceased’s soul or the like.

Between 20th December 1643 and 2nd January 1644, Dowsing was at work in Cambridge. An extract from his Journal states:
“3 Jan. 2. Pullchers  or Round parish, in Cambridge, Mr. Giffard, church-warden, George Harrison, Cunstable. We brake down 14 superstitious pictures, and diverse idolatrous inscriptions, and one of God the Father, and of Christ, and of the Apostles.”

The plan of the 15th century church at Figure 3 shows seven ground floor window openings. From the picture at Figure 4 it can be deduced that there were eight three light windows at the clerestory level in the tower, and eight two light windows above. It is thus seems highly likely that Dowsing smashed fourteen of the fifteen glazed windows in the ground and clerestory levels, and that the eight higher ones were clear. This would seem sensible as these would have been too high to be seen and would been the only source of natural daylight. Whether he did not smash one glazed window or whether the window in say the north aisle did not contain stained glass is unknown.

Inside View of St Sepulchre’s Church in Cambridge, drawn by W. Alexander F. S. A., engraved by John Byrne and published by T. Cadell and W. Davies in London in May 1808.

This then is the only hint we have of what 15th century glass there may have been. From this statement and from the structure and size of windows which can be seen in Figure 6, we can conjecture that they would have consisted of a single figure of Christ, the Apostles and possibly other saints in each light, like the contemporary example shown in Figure 7. It seems likely that from Dowsing’s time right up until the 1841 remodelling, Holy Sepulchre had no coloured glass. This view seems to be confirmed if one looks at Figure 6. All the windows shown in the bell-tower and in the chancel are square clear quarries.

It was during Salvin’s remodelling that coloured glass windows were reintroduced. In light of the Cambridge Camden Society’s liking for strict copies of medieval art, it is no surprise that they insisted that the windows should be glazed in an appropriate medieval style, nor that they employed the two most prominent glaziers, then working in this “archaeological” style, Thomas Willement and William Wailes.

Thomas Willement  is regarded as the most important designer of the early 19th century to be concerned with historical styles of glass-painting. He was active from 1811 to 1865. Willement started work as a plumber and he also installed water closets and beer pumps. However, in 1811 he produced his first heraldic glass window and went on to become “Artist in Stained Glass” to Queen Victoria.  He did much church restoration. Because he advocated the medieval mosaic construction of stained glass windows, he has been called “The father of Victorian Stained Glass”  . He is reputed to have rediscovered the use of leads as part of the design pattern. He also reverted to the 14th century design of having an individual figure in each light. He was not however a crusader for old designs. He gave the patron what he wanted and even painted glass. He worked briefly for A. W. N. Pugin, but they fell out because Pugin felt Willement was too mercenary.

Willement certainly shows in his work an awareness of the flat backgrounds and limited three-dimensional nature of medieval stained-glass. It is clear that he realised the value of leading not only as means of holding together pieces of different coloured glass but also as a way of emphasising the design. These attributes can be clearly seen in the example shown at Figure 8. Although he utilised less lurid colours than some of his contemporaries, his strong and bright colours are not entirely true to the medieval models he is copying. As a result, for some commentators his comparative ignorance of historical styles and the limited range of coloured glass available to him inevitably detracted from his attempts to produce an authentic effect.

William Wailes  began life as a grocer and tea merchant in Newcastle upon Tyne. He established his glass studio there in 1838. He was so successful that by 1850 he employed 75 craftsmen. He was later joined by his son William Thomas Wailes . In 1861 his son-in-law Thomas Rankine Strang  became a partner. The firm continued as Wailes and Strang, and Thomas’s son William Wailes Strang  ran the firm for several years until it closed in 1914.  Wailes also made glass for Pugin, before in 1845 they too fell out.

Wailes was an “artist well skilled in drawing the human figure”, but he rarely showed progressive or creative flair. He is reported to have hated anything new and to have always advocated “glass like the old ones”. His windows are very two-dimensional, with clear lead lines. They have well devised pattern, and are bright and pictorial. According to Birkin Haward “They are rarely poor”. At the time of the Holy Sepulchre remodelling he was involved in the major project of designing, producing and fitting glass into Ely Cathedral, and an example of this work is shown at Figure 9. This may explain why he was called to contribute to the Holy Sepulchre rebuilding. From these brief descriptions it is clear why the Cambridge Camden Society and Salvin would have chosen these particular glaziers.

4 Description of the Existing Glass

This article is mainly concerned with the 19th century glass, so in reviewing the windows in Holy Sepulchre those in the round nave will be considered first. Later windows will be briefly listed.

Window Numbering System

The identification system used will be that promulgated by the Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi in their authoritative registers of coloured, painted and stained glass windows. However as there are two east windows which are given the designation ‘I’ under the CVMA formula, the larger east window in the chancel will be referred to as ‘Chancel I’. Also the windows in the Vestry will be prefixed with the letter ‘v’ (see Figure 10).

The windows in the round nave were designed to conform to the style of glazing appropriate to the style of architecture. The source of inspiration is Canterbury Cathedral. The earliest windows there were probably completed in 1184, so this date is compatible with the foundation of Holy Sepulchre. As this scheme was probably designed by a Frenchman  using Normandy glass it used the prevailing French style.

Adam from Canterbury Cathedral, 12th century.

They are designed on a generous scale to be seen from the ground. The painting, which is accentuated by the lead lines, has great simplicity. The colours are deep and little white glass is used. In Britain white glass was cheap and therefore not valued artistically, but too much strong light would in any case destroy the harmony of the darker colours, predominantly the luminous blues and rubies which the French loved.

In Canterbury there are single large figure windows in the clerestory, and that pattern is repeated here. However, either by preference or by lack of historical accuracy the style of single figure design is based not on 12th century designs, but on those of the 14th century as can be seen by comparing the two examples shown.

Again echoing Canterbury where single figures in the lower windows would be out of scale, in Holy Sepulchre the lower windows are divided into medallions of different shapes, each containing a scene which formed part of a sequence. Each medallion was set against a diapered patterned background and surrounded by a beaded border. These windows are big enough, and unlike the tower lights, low enough for the more complex images they contain to be viewed clearly.

Windows I, SIII, NIII, and WI are by Thomas Willement and date from 1841 .

                                                                        The Agnus Dei

Window I shows the Agnus Dei with a cruciform halo standing on a draped sacrificial  altar holding the flag of resurrection  and a spear to represent his suffering. There is an architecture surround and a roof-scape showing possibly Jerusalem and the actual Holy Sepulchre Church. The colours are accurate for the 14th century style window Willement is creating, and the leading both enhances the design and mimics the appearance of a restored window. The painting and silver staining is also restrained and therefore appropriate. The inscription in Gothic script reads “Agnus Dei qui toles peccata mundi miserero nobis”. That is “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us”. This is the first line of the Agnus Dei prayer during the Communion Rite in the Mass. Placing this symbol  in the east window of the nave is correct ritually. The symbol of the Agnus Dei which derives from the Book of Revelations refers to the sacrifice of Jesus which is re-enacted on the altar at the east end of the chancel.

    Etheldreda

Window SIII shows a haloed figure of St Etheldreda, Queen of East Anglia, and foundress in 673 AD of two monastic cells at Ely. She is therefore the patron saint of Ely in whose diocese Holy Sepulchre is. She holds two lilies which are the attributes of virgin saints, and an open book symbolising her learning. She wears a vivid red cape over a delicately silver stained tunic. She stands under a stylised canopy of suitably ancient design. This in turn is surmounted by the dove of the Holy Spirit. Behind her is an inscription giving an old version of her name. Beneath her is an inscription to the glory of God. Her position to the holy south is appropriate for a sanctified founder.

                                                             The Venerable Bede

Window NIII shows the haloed figure of the Venerable Bede. He is making the sign of blessing and holding a book and pen, attributes used to symbolise his learning and authorship. His name is given in an inscription behind him. His hair is white to reflect his venerable age, and he wears a priest’s vestments in blue, silver stain and white with a brown stole. He stands against a rich red background under a similar antique canopy to Etheldreda, so as to relate the two designs. The roof-scape is probably a reference to his monastery at Jarrow. By his position on the north of the nave Bede is meant to represent the continuation of Christian learning during the ‘Dark Ages’. This position also reflects his life in a monastery in the far north. He is an entirely appropriate saint to include in church being restored by academics who wished to recapture the simplicity and purity of the ancient religion.

    The Pelican-in-her-Piety

Window WI shows the Pelican-in-her Piety against a rich red background. The pelican was thought to slay its rebellious young and then bring them back to life with her own blood. This is an ancient Christian symbol of Man’s redemption through the Atonement of Christ. Beneath her are a chalice and a Table of Law in the form of two tablets of stone. The chalice is both the vessel in which Christ’s blood is drunk and a symbol of the Redemption. The inscription says ‘Hic est enim sangus meus novi testamenti in [unclear] peccatos’. This translates as ‘Here is my blood of the new testament in [forgiveness] of sins, the statement made at the elevation of the chalice during the Eucharist. The canopy and roof-scape is identical to that in the opposite Agnus Dei window, strengthening the theological link between them. As this is the window under which the congregation would leave church, the west window often carried a doom or redemption message. Here the symbols of the pelican, the chalice and the Table of Laws carry a similar message that redemption is available to all who keep God’s law because of Christ’s sacrifice.

In the clerestory, windows SII, SIV, NII and NIV, also by Willement, are made with fragments of 15th century glass. The overall colour of these windows is much lighter, because of the use of 15th century glass. The cardinal point windows are based on the darker colours used in earlier glass. The old glass may have come from the collapsed tour . However the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments states that the 15th century and later fragments were given by H P Oakes of Bury St Edmunds in 1842. This does not of course mean that they do not come originally from the church. However, as it has been argued that from the time of Dowsing there had probably been no coloured glass in the windows, it is more likely that these are merely fragments with no specific relationship to Holy Sepulchre .

Window SII is made up from fragments of a figure in a white robe holding a crosier with the unrelated head of an angel attached. The canopy, which is in an appropriate rounded arch style, and the banded border are made of assorted fragments. The blue columns appear to be 19th century and pick up those used in the cardinal point windows. Above the canopy is another fragment showing the bust of an angel. Unlike the windows at the cardinal points of the tower, this window and the other interstitial ones do not have an obvious theological message. The overall colour scheme of these windows is white with bright patches of red and an especially vivid blue, so their purpose may be purely to provide an appropriate set of colours in an appropriate design of a single figure. However, later in this article a possible interpretation is offered.

Window SIV shows a figure in red and blue holding a cup. The head does not belong, and has been surrounded by a halo. The figure is standing against a white toned background of fragments and within a pointed arch border made up of red glass with spiralling silver stained stem and leaf motif. This is not a canopy and appears to be the border meant for a narrower pointed light. Outside of this is a border made up of fragments. Above the tendril border is a figure of God the Father in silver stain and a fragmentary black-letter inscription. The figure of St John is sometimes shown with a cup with an adder in it to show he survived drinking deadly venom, so this made up figure may be meant to be him.

Window NII shows a figure in a red robe made up from various fragments. The figure has a halo and is shown kneeling in prayer. The outer canopy here is also pointed but in this light is made of fragments. The figure kneels in front of a round arch structure. Above the canopy is a figure made up of red fragments which is probably meant to represent a seraph. In the Bible seraphim are associated with burning so they are always depicted in red glass. Once again the overall tone is light and the sense of mosaic construction is particularly strong in this window.

Window NIV shows the bearded figure of St Peter with his attributes of a book and keys. The figure stands against a rounded arch structure and the canopy is once again pointed and made up of fragments. Above the canopy there is the clear figure of a seraph coloured red according to tradition. This is the only figure in the interstitial windows that is clearly identifiable. However, if one of other figures is St John, the windows may refer to the Apostles’ Creed sequence  as Sts Peter and John are the first and fourth in that. If this is so then the other two figures may be references to St Andrew and St James Major. We know that the Holy Sepulchre Church had a later affiliation to St Andrew and that St Andrew is shown in the modern Chancel I window. St Andrews’ attribute is the saltire and window SII has noticeable blue columns and a blue cross piece on the figure, so it may be an attempt to fashion from the available fragments the figure of Saint Andrew. St James Major is usually shown as a pilgrim, and although there is no apparent scallop shell which is the attribute of a pilgrim in the window the position of prayer would be appropriate. This hypothesis is conjectural but may give a clue to Willement’s design concept.

In the ambulatory the window sV is by Willement. The light contains three medallions with a cross lattice background in green and red. The window has one blue border which also encircles the larger central medallion. The larger central medallion shows Christ’s Baptism by St John Baptist. Interestingly Christ is shown deeply immersed in water as would be appropriate for a 12th century window. In that case the figure holding his clothes could well not be an angel, as it would be in a Renaissance window, but the personification of the River Jordan. The Dove of the Holy Spirit is descending over Christ’s head. The upper medallion shows the sacred monogram ?? (Chi-rho) between the Greek letters ? (Alpha) and O (Omega). The first two letters are the beginning of the name of Christ, but they had also existed as the abbreviation for the Greek word ‘chrestos’ (auspicious). Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and are used in the Book of Revelations to symbolise God as the beginning and end of all things. The combined sacred monograms were adopted by early Christians as a symbol. The lower medallion has the sacred monogram ??S which is the abbreviated form of the name Jesus in Greek, and was also taken to mean ‘Jesus Hominum Salvator’ (Jesus Saviour of Mankind). Below are the Greek letters ? ? and S as abbreviations for ‘Christ’. The upper and lower medallions are flanked by the reversed swastika which is another ancient Christian symbol. Willement’s mark (shown here) appears this window. The mark is in the same style used in medieval merchant’s marks .

Window sVI is by Wailes. It is the only one by him in the church, but as he was glazing Ely Cathedral at this time the presence of a window by him is not surprising. It has two large medallions separated by a smaller decorative one. The two larger medallions are outlined in rich blue and the background is filled with a lattice work pattern of banding like Willements but in yellow and blue. The whole window is bordered in alternating red and yellow rectangles. The lower medallion shows Christ’s Entombment. The four figures are Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, with Mary and Mary Magdala looking on. Joseph of Arimathea laid Christ in his own unused tomb. According to John, Nicodemus helped Joseph and brought myrrh and aloes to preserve the body. The upper medallion shows the Resurrection. The image of Christ floating in the air above a coffin lid and surrounded by angels is a devotional image, rather than a narrative one, and derives from 14th and 15th century Italy . The central smaller medallion contains a four-petalled flower shape. The overall tone of this window is more yellow than Willement’s windows, and thus reminiscent of 13th century German as opposed to French glass. It is not certain if this was deliberate or not. Windows nV and nVI replaced ones put in during the time of Salvin’s rebuilding. Window nVI was originally a medallion window showing Our Saviour in Judgment with Evangelist symbols, and nV showed St Michael and an angel with six wings. The whereabouts of these windows are unknown, but their removal is an example of the low esteem that Victorian glass had in the early 20th century.

Window nVI shows Christ holding a child while blessing a girl to his right. Another child kneels in prayer and adoration at his feet. The group stands in front of a tapestry drape and on an architecture plinth. The border is made up of alternating gold crowns and silver fleur-de-lys. A scroll above Christ carries the inscription “Suffer Little Child to come unto Me”. At the bottom is a dedication inscription, “In grateful memory of David Evans Pratt who died 31st July 1927 aged 74 years after 50 years devoted work as Superintendent and Teacher in Holy Sepulchre Sunday School. This window was erected by the Congregation, Teachers and Schoolchildren”. This window is by Jones and Willis  and is in an insipid style carried over from the late Victorian period. This and the next window are not at all related to the other windows in the church either by style or symbolically.

Window nV shows Christ carrying a lantern and making a gesture of blessing. The drape, architectural details and border at similar to those in window nVI. The scroll above Christ’s head says “I am the Light of the World”. The figure, while not an exact copy is clearly derived from Holman Hunt’s picture “The Light of the World” of 1853, but lacks the original’s intensity of tone and characterisation. At the bottom is a dedicatory inscription “To the Glory of God and in grateful memory of Samuel Trerice Adams, Canon and Rural Dean. He loved this Church and served it with a cheerful faith as Vicar from 1913 to 1936”. The window has no attribution but the style and composition are so close to nVI that is probably also by Jones and Willis. This is reinforced by the fact that a memorial in the Church of St. Mary, Yaxley, Suffolk, is described as being “the familiar Holman Hunt “Light of the World” portrait of Christ from the workshop of Jones and Willis” . One oddity is that Jones and Willis ceased trading in 1931 and this window must post date 1936. It is possible they sold their designs to another firm.

Window Chancel I is by Nicholson and Smith to a design either by Smith or Paul. It dates from 1946 and replaces a Victorian one destroyed when a practice bomb exploded nearby. The earlier window was a Crucifixion by Willement.

It shows Christ in Majesty crucified on a living cross, flanked by St John the Evangelist writing in a book with his attribute of an eagle holding an ink horn in its beak in the left light and St Andrew holding a book with his attribute of the saltire in the right light. The Agnus Dei is at the foot of the cross. The angel to his right carries a scroll bearing the inscription “He came that may have life”, and one on his left bears a scroll saying “He shall reign for ever and ever”. In the tracery is the chalice, the wafer the symbols Alpha and Omega and the Greek letters ??? and ??. All these symbols repeat those found in the 19th century windows. The inscription at the bottom of the centre window reads,

To the Greater Glory of GOD
in thankfulness to HIM
this window is dedicated
and replaces that destroyed in 1942

All the other windows in the chancel, that is windows sII, sIII, sIV, nII, nIII nIV, and nV have plain lozenge shaped quarries most probably dating either from the 1840s rebuilding, or more likely are modern replacements the quarries lost in World War II.