Stained Glass: Essays

The Medieval East Window at St Andrew's, Greystoke, Cumbria.

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There has been a church on the site of St Andrews since 1255, and possibly before the first Baron Greystoke, Lyulph was granted the gist of the Lordship by Ranulph de Meschines in the 12th century. The present church, much restored over the centuries, is large and imposing, a legacy of Greystoke's wealth in the 14th and 15th centuries. The church was made collegiate before 1383, with a master and six cannons, around which chantries were built. From a distance the church tower looks more like a fort than merely a place to hang some bells. It is solid, square, embattled and defiant within the tranquility of the surrounding farmland and the close-by Lake District peaks. The key here is that the tower doubled as a defensible fort where the locals could take refuge in the event of an incursion by the Scots.

There is a large quantity of magnificent medieval stained glass in the church as well as more modern works including a window by The Kempe Studios. If you do take the trouble to make the detour, allow yourself plenty of time as there is a lot to see. Perhaps the most notable of the medieval glass is in the east window (right) which is filled with a great many fragments of 16th century glass, and of particular interest in the lower panels there is a rare example of an extant apochryphal story; that of The Acts of Ss Andrew and Matthew in the City of the Man-Eaters. Quite why such a story was ever given prominence in this form is a mystery given that the original writings were declared heretical by the Pope in the 5th century CE. The glass is much restored, and jumbled, but many of the main themes are recognisable.

Also in the chancel on the south side is a plain glass window with nine reset (Flemish?) roundels depicting various animals and a symbol of the Trinity, as well as a second window with heraldic shields which are covered later.

 

East Window: The Acts of Ss Andrew and Matthew in the City of the Man-eaters

Greystoke has seen its fair share of conflict over the centuries, not just from the Scots who regularly raided the border areas until the reign of William Rufus brought Cumberland within his control, but also during the English Civil War. In 1620 Greystoke Castle, the seat of the Duke of Norfolk, was held for the King and so became a target for the Parliamentarians. In 1648 the Parliamentary forces led by General Lambert laid seige to the castle and captured it, only to half destroy it in the process. On hearing of Cromwell's army's approach and impending battle, and knowing of their iconoclastic nature, the inhabitants of Greystoke set about removing all the medieval stained glass from the church and hiding it for safe keeping. It was just as well. It is unlikely that an apocryphal story as depicted in the east window would have escaped the puritan's attention, and would have been utterly destroyed had it been left in situ. If we are to believe the inscriptioin at the base of the east window, we might infer that the glass was replaced when the chancel was restored in 1654 However, we cannot be certain that this is the case as the Puritans were in power until 1660 and Charles II not restored to the throne until 1661. What we do know is that the glass was restored in 1848 under the direction of the then rector, Henry Askew. Though much jumbled, and making it somewhat difficult to interpret, it is nonetheless a breathtaking piece of art.

The east window is in perpendicular style of 5 main lights depicting the apochyphal story of Saint Andrew and Matthew in the City of the Man-Eaters. It is not clear who the original glass was made by, but it is quite likely that the York-based glass makers were responsible. Vidimus in an article in July/August of 2009² suggests that York glazers were working in Cumbria from the early 14th century and that there are similarities with some of the subjects in the Greystoke east window with the painting of Sir John Petty (d. 1508), such as the figures of the Virgin and a canonized bishop.

 

The majority of the glass in the tracery lights is modern. It was installed during the 1848 restoration, and depicts heraldic shields (we can safely assume) to recognise the donors who paid for the works, amidst a reset jumble of medieval glass fragments, probably 15th and 16th century. Many of the fragments would have come from other windows in the church. The larger of the topmost tracery lights are mostly reset medieval glass and a number of figures can be clearly made out; on the left a queen and two kneeling saints, and on the right a king, a standing figure (possibly an angel or a donor figure) and another saint. In the centre under the IHC monogram are two shields, (left) Arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (post 1837) and (right) the Diocese of Carlisle:

East Window top tracery. Click on an image to enlarge and start slide show.

The lower tracery contains 19th century armorial shields set amongst reset fragments of medieval glass commemorating the Barons of Greystoke and Bishop of Carlisle (Hugh Percy) who doubtless contributed to the rebuilding of the church in 1848.

The central pair of lights have the arms of the early Barons of Greystoke, those of the first and second houses. On the left we see gules, three cushions argent for Greystoke. The first Baron Greystoke was Lyulph who was granted the lordship by the gift of Ranulph de Meschines, Earl of Cumberland after the Norman conquest. The barony remained in the family until 1306 when the tenth baron, John de Greystoke died without issue. The title then passed to John's cousin Ralph Fitz-William who succeeded by settlement (the second house). His arms, barry of six, argent and azure, three chaplets or are depicted on the right of the central pair.

The leftmost pair of lights contain the coats of arms of the Dacre and Howard families: Left: Gules, three escallops argent for Dacre, the third house of the Barony of Greystoke and right: gules, on a bend between 6 crosses fitchee, argent, an escutcheon or, therin a demi-lion rampant (pierced through the mouth with an arrow) for Howard, the fourth house. The title passed from the Greystoke family to the Dacre family when Thomas Dacre of Gillesland married Elizabeth Greystoke, Baroness Greystoke and Wemme who was the only surviving child of Sir Robert Greystoke (d. 1487). Elizabeth was a minor at the time of her father's death. In 1506 as heir to her grandfather's title, Ralph Baron Greystoke, she had "special livery in all her lands". By her marriage to Thomas, the title of Baron Greystoke passed into the Dacre family³. The title passed to the Howard family in a similar manner (i.e. through a female heir, one of three daughters marrying). In 1569 George, Baron of Greystoke and Gillesland (Dacre) died without a male heir. The eldest of his three daughters, Anne married Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel who became Lord of Greystoke. To either side of these lights are blazons of scallop shells combined with fitchee crosses reflecting the arms of Dacre and Howard. There is another scallop shell in the topmost pane.

The right-most pair have (left) the arms of the Duke of Northumberland; Quarterly, 1st and 4th. Louvaine and Lucy; viz. 1st and 4th or, a lion rampant azure, for Lovaine, and 2nd and 3rd; gules, three lucies or pikes huirant argent for Lucy; azure 5 lozenges or conjoined in fesse for Percy. The Rev Thomas Lees wrting in 1874^{4 5} believes the arms of Percy were installed in honour of, Hugh Percy⁶, the Bishop of Carlisle at the time of the renovation and are not therefore to be attributed to the then Duke of Northumberland who may have had no hand in the matter. The arms to the right are those of Askew, after the rector, Henry Askew; sable, a gold fesse between 3 asses passant argent. To either side of the main lights there are identical brown bishop's mitres and croziers (pastoral staffs), presumably signifying the diocese of Carlisle. At the very top there is a bearded man's head pierced by a sword held in a right hand around which there is a garter crest with the Askew family motto (Fac et spera - Over the Point of a Sword).

East Window intermediate tracery. Click on an image to enlarge and start slide show.

The Rev Lees comments:⁴

"It will be observed that the arms on the north side refer to the castle (the owner of which repairs the north side of the chancel) those to the south side to the Ecclesiastical element, viz., the Bishop, Patron, and Rector. - The Rector owns the south side of the chancel".

On the next page we explore the main panels and the apocryphal story they portray.

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