Stained Glass Tours in EnglandSherrill, Charles Hitchcock
History
Stained Glass Tours in England
Sherrill, Charles Hitchcock
Cathedrals -- England; England -- Description and travel; Glass painting and staining -- England
When about to leave this beautifully panelled charmingly glazed
interior, note the small window in the west wall of the entrance
vestibule. It is of a domestic type familiar during the Perpendicular
epoch. In the centre are the arms of Henry VII. between two supporters.
Across the quarry background are bands slanting from the left down to
the right bearing the motto, "Honi soit qui mal y pense." Some of the
quarries show small leaves, and others an H surmounted by a crown. This
window is similar in style to those already remarked at Salisbury, in
John Halle's hall, and others maybe seen in many private houses dating
from that time.
Although of modest size and possessing but two windows, Gatton Chapel is
as delightful a bit of complete Renaissance glazing as one will see in
England.
KNOLE
East and west across almost the whole width of Kent run three parallel
lines of low hills affording many charming views which, however, are
only part of the many beauties of that picturesque county. Upon the
easterly end of one of these ridges lies Sevenoaks. Although the present
town is by no means an ancient one, it possesses great interest in that
just below its edge lies the large estate of Knole Park which, if we may
play upon words, is a series of knolls that together with their
intersecting glades are shaded by groves of great beeches whose soft
green foliage has for many a long day sheltered the herds of deer
wandering to and fro beneath them. Upon an eminence of greater size than
its fellows stands the ancient dwelling known as "Knole," a great series
of courts and quadrangles combined into an abode of such size that it is
said to contain, in addition to its superb state apartments, no fewer
than 365 bedrooms. Enclosed within a wide sweeping battlemented wall are
charming old-world gardens that nestle about the ancient grey mansion,
and soften by their dainty setting of variegated flowers, green lawns
and trees, the fortress-like appearance of its towers and long stretches
of stone enclosure. Thanks to a fine combination of patriotism and
hospitality so often seen in England, a large portion of this house is
(upon payment of a trifling fee) thrown open to the study and
appreciation of the public on the afternoons of Thursday and Saturday
(2-5), as well as all day Friday (10-5). It is because it can be so
conveniently seen by our glass-hunting pilgrim (owing to the generosity
of the owners and the fact that it is under an hour by train from
Charing Cross, London) that Knole has been selected to illustrate in how
decorative a fashion the sixteenth century glazier could spread the gay
tints of heraldic story upon his windows. Here can also be remarked one
or two other minor manifestations of stained glass at that time. One of
these is to be seen in the first stairway up which visitors are
conducted. Upon some of its diminutive diamond-shaped panes are
enamelled armorial crests, much in vogue at the end of the sixteenth
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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