Marian Pilgrimage - Our Lady of Winchester

The next stage on the Pilgrimage is Winchester with both the cathedral and Winchester College of interest to the Marian - or any other - pilgrim.

I have written about the cathedral, the Wykeham chantry, and the surviving figures from the reredos in my previous posts, which can be reached from the one I wrote last year at Marian Pilgrimage - Our Lady of Winchester

It ocurred to me this year to draw attention to the College buildings, which have historic statues of Our Lady, and more especially the remains of its original glazing of the chapel.

Image: therosewindow.com

The remains of the Tree of Jesse from the large east window of Winchester College Chapel. The stained glass was made by Thomas Glazier in 1393 and given by William of Wyckham. The windows were removed in the nineteenth century and replaced by Betton & Evans’ skilled but disappointingly coloured replicas of the original work. Parts of the original fourteenth century work were sold, but these figures have now been returned and were reset after restoration by Dennis King in the 1950s in the west window of the Thurburn Chantry. The tones of the glass are far richer and more subtle than those of the nineteenth century replacement in the main chapel. The style of Glazier’s drawing will be immediately recognisable to those who have seen the companion figures of St John, St James and Ezekiel now in the Victoria & Albert Museum; here most of the twelve figures in the main lights are prophets and kings, all labelled except for the Virgin and Child  with the kneeling figure of Bishop Wykeham (bottom left) and St John the Baptist Christ with the kneeling figure of King Richard II (bottom right). In the tracery lights are St Peter at the heavenly gate, a mitred soul from the General Resurrection, another charming, and larger, Virgin suckling the Christ Child. This formed the centre of the window. Two adoring saints complete the scheme.

 

Text revised by the Clever Boy from the same website 

When I first saw the window I was somewhat surprised that nineteenth century propriety allowed the faithful reproduction of the suckling Virgin in the new window. This was by no means unknown in later medieval art, but disappeared in the more consciously chaste atmosphere after Trent.

May Our Lady of Winchester pray for The King and all the Royal Family and for us all