Thursday 30 September 2010

Ulverston Methodist Church, Ulverston

Ulverston Methodist Church
Neville Street
Ulverston
Cumbria

The Methodist church can be found at the junction of Neville Street and Hartley Street. It would appear that the Methodists had a presence in Ulverston by the end of the 18th century, meeting in Nancy Moister's cottage. Eventually the congregation grew so much that a large room in a building on Neville Street was purchased, leading eventually to the building of a small chapel. As the congregation continued to grow, this building was finally erected, and opened in 1901.

Above. Looking at the East side of the church.


Above. A view of the church from Neville Street.



Above. A view of the church from further up Neville Street.




Sunday 26 September 2010

Stained Glass at Jesus Church, Troutbeck

Stained glass at Jesus Church
Troutbeck
Cumbria

This small church has to have some of the best stained glass I've seen in Cumbria to date. The jewel in the crown is the East window, consisting of work by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Maddox Brown and William Morris.

Above. The fabulous East window with work by Burne-Jones, Brown and Morris.

Above. A window showing, I think, Jesus healing the sick.

The inscription at its foot reads, "To the Glory of God, and in memory of John Wilson ESQ..............was placed here by his daughters." Unfortunately the flowers are in the way or part of the inscription\dedication.

Above. Jesus blessing St Peter.

The inscription reads, "In memory of Roy William Sewell, 40 years vicar of Troutbeck who died 31st of July 1869, aged 88 years. This window is --- as a token of filial(?) affection by his son, Robert Sewell" As I managed to decipher some of the text, I'll correct this entry....the letters are a little faded in places.

Above. A nativity scene....the birth of Christ in the stable.

The window has the following dedication at its base, "To the glory of god and in memory of Lieutenant John Wilson R.H. who died Feb 16 1865 at Nelson, New Zealand. This window was placed here by his sister Charlotte."

Above. A window depicting Jesus as the Lamb of God. Note the Agnes Dieu at the top.

The inscription at the base of the window reads "In memory of James Longmire of Longmire --------who died 13th July 1861, aged 49 years."

Above. Window depicting Jesus blessing his followers.

This window has a long dedication at its foot, and reads as follows "In memory of Rowland Birkett who died Aug 12th 1826 aged 78, and of Sarah his wife who died Nov 8th 1812 aged 52, also of the following: Their sons and daughters Mary Moffat, died Sep 14th 1836 aged 42, James March 7th 1851 aged 58, Charlotte Oct 16th 1863 aged 67, Dorothy July 26th 1866 aged 76, Margaret May 23rd 1870 aged 78, Robert Otley Nov 25th 1870 aged 71 and William March 1st 1872 aged 70."

Above. An Edward Burn-Jones window.

I think it's safe to say that this is an Edward Burn-Jones window, judging by the style of the figures. It appears to show a saint being held aloft by a host of angles with brilliant red wings, with another two earth-bound angles beneath. The inscription reads "To the glory of god and in loving memory of Daniel Irvine Flattely who died at Holbeck Cottage Oct 21st 1897."

Above. Unidentified window. I should have moved the flowers.

Above. A beautifully coloured window from the nave.

The dedication on this window reads as follows "To the glory of god and in loving memory of Elise and William Grimble Groves, of Holehird in this parish, entered into rest 3rd of October 1918 and 24th June 1927. I wonder if any of the Grimble Groves family are still living in the area...what a fantastic surname!

Above. A window appearing to show Jesus blessing either sailors or fishermen.

The dedication in this window reads "Of John Sargent who died at by his devoted daughters." This is obviously an incomplete dedication, meaning that the window has either moved from its original location where it was part of a two light window....or the rest of the dedication is contained within some of the windows that had flowers in front of them.

Jesus Church, Troutbeck

Jesus Church
Troutbeck
Cumbria















Sunday 19 September 2010

Stained glass windows at Cartmel Priory

A selection of stained glass windows from Cartmel Priory

This is by no means a complete photographic collection of the stained glass at Cartmel. There are a number of windows that were just too high for my poor camera to take decent photos of....these will have to wait until a future visit. For now though, this is a good representation of what is to be seen here.

Above. A window given to the church by Charles Gray Rigge, Captian in the Royal Navy, and his wife Ellen.

The four angels right at the top of the window bear scrolls with the word Alleluia on them. The white rose of Lancashire is very much in evidence in this window, due to the fact that Cartmel, and the Cartmel peninsula was originally part of Lancashire before it became part of Cumbria after the County re-organisation of 1974. Captain Grey Rigge was the Lieutenant Commander of the Comet, a tug and sometime ferry, in 1847. This vessel was the first steam ship ordered by the British Admiralty. He was also the Lieutenant Commander of the Trident, a British Admiralty Sloop, in 1846.

Above. A slightly over-exposed photo showing one of the larger windows.

Unfortunately, as this is slightly over-exposed, it's proved difficult to identify any of the characters in this window. All I can say with any conviction is that the top fourteen windows, excluding the one on the left and the right (which contain angels with scrolls) contain images of saints. A few of them are readily identifiable, for example, the fifth window from the left on the bottom row of saints, is obviously St Andrew with his Saltire cross at his back. On the top row of saints, second from the right, is St Matthew. The others are all either too pale to read, or the text is obscured. If I manage to get a better photo of this window, it will be posted here. The bottom left and bottom right images are of prophets, but I'm unable to read their names.

Above. Another of the larger windows.

This window contains fifteen smaller windows at the top, all of which contain images of angels. They are either playing musical instruments or are holding scrolls with the word Alleluia written on them. The five bottom row windows all contain images of characters from the bible. Obviously, the centre window contains an image of Jesus. Immediately to his left is, I think, Moses, judging by the tablets that this character is holding. I'm afraid I'm unable to identify any of the others.

Above. Another of the larger windows.

Much of this window is written in Latin and over exposed so there's not much to say about the glass in this window.

Above. One of the 'busier' windows at Cartmel Priory.

Above. Window with almost colourless panes at the very top.

The following five windows are all to be found in the North aisle, and may represent some of the oldest glass here at Cartmel.

Above. The left hand panel.

Above. The right hand panel.

Above. The middle panel.

It is obvious that the glass in this tiny window is a collection of broken pieces from another window(s) There is a small piece of scroll with some writing on it, and some golden hair....possibly with the hind foot of a lion or leopard. There is also a hand (to the left) and other unidentified pieces.

Above. The three windows in-situ.

Above. Another small collection of pieces of window.

This additional collection of scraps of glass, shows four unidentified saints in the top panes of glass.

Above. A collection of broken glass.

There is obviously a small fragment of a family coat of arms here in form of half of the shield at the top of the window. The rest of the glass is made of pieces of faces and hands as well as other unidentifiable scraps of design.

Above. Another collection of broken glass.

There are a few pieces that can be identified as parts of a an angel here, as well as decorative glass.

Above. More fragments of stained glass.

Above. And more fragments.

This small portion of glass appears to have the head of a saint, to the left, with a halo surrounding his bearded face, and, in the centre, a nun or even an Abbess, judging by the ornamental staff she is holding.

The following four pieces of stained glass, all come from the Jesse window, the name alluding to the presence of the Tree of Jesse....a genealogical family history of Jesus, tracing his ancestry back to Jesse, the son of King David! Unfortunately for us, there is only a small amount of glass left from this window....but what there is, is deeply coloured and richly detailed.

Above. An angel with a scroll upon which is a Latin inscription.

Above. Another fragment of the Jesse window with two characters and yet more Latin.

Above. Another fragment of the Jesse window showing a kingly figure holding a sceptre.

To the left and right of this figure, the incomplete representations of Royal leopards in gold can still be seen.

Above. Another fragment, with more characters and Latin inscriptions.

As usual, as more information becomes available it will be posted here....and if I manage to make another visit, I'll try and get photos of the rest of the windows from the Priory.

Cartmel Priory, Cartmel

Cartmel Priory
Cartmel
Cumbria


Above. The East end of Cartmel Priory.


Above. A view of the South face of Cartmel Priory.


Above. Looking East into the Nave.


Above. A panoramic view of the Chancel choir stalls.


Above. A view of the chancel passageways high up in the walls.


Above. Looking into the Chancel at the East end of the Priory.


Above. The South Transept and its two magnificent windows.


Above. The North Transept and its single window.


Above. Looking down the North aisle towards the chapel.


Above. A 'dark' view of the chancel showing the passageways high up in the wall.


Above. The Harrington tomb, inserted into an archway and therefore not in its original location.


Above. The Cavendish monument, with Royal arms on the wall behind it.


Above. A decorative piscina.


Above. Late 12th century door in the South wall.