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
Looking eastward from the crossing, we can see through below this great
window and above the altar into the ample Lady chapel beyond. Passing on
into that chapel, we at once observe its most prominent feature, the
east window, constructed during the latter part of the fifteenth
century, a clearly marked example of the Perpendicular. The colouring is
here much richer than we are accustomed to find in English work of this
time, in fact it reminds one of contemporary French windows. The figures
within the canopies are more varied, and occur in groups, thus differing
widely from the almost monotonous similarity of the softer toned
solitary figures upon the choir window. In the north aisle of the nave
the third, fifth and fifteenth embrasures from the west provide us with
marked examples of the Perpendicular. Double sets of pinnacles,
two-storeyed pedestals, jewels separately leaded into the borders of
robes, &c., show a distinct advance upon the earlier and simpler methods
of the great wall of glazing in the choir. One should remark the
Decorated work on the easterly side of both transepts. The clerestory
lights are glazed in quarries with coloured borders, while above them
the tracery embrasures are not only like those at Tewkesbury, but are
also glazed in the same fashion, white lines wound about on a red
ground; we have remarked the same treatment at Bristol and Wells. Even a
brief glance about this great sanctuary reveals that huge sums must
have been spent not only in veiling the older walls with the later
Decorated work, but also in the elaboration which is everywhere
noticeable. Nor is it difficult to understand how sufficient funds for
this purpose were collected when one considers the vast store of gold,
silver, and jewels brought here as offerings by pilgrims to the tomb of
the murdered King Edward II. We must not depart without having a walk
about the charming cloisters, which are by many considered the most
beautiful in England.
GREAT MALVERN
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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