Truro, Cathedral Church of St Mary

s16. South nave aisle 1

Entries in grey are not obtained from documentary evidence, but are inferred from content, context, etc.

Date of manufacture and insertion
Number of lights
1
Maker
Clayton & Bell
Main subject
St Boniface : SS Columbanus and Methodius : Boniface felling oak
Donor
“Friends and kinsfolk”
Dedicatee
Dr William Edward Collins, Bishop of Gibraltar, died at Smyrna, and his wife Mary Brewin Collins, died
Notes
  1. Death of Mrs Mary Collins, Clifton Society p 9.
  2. Death of Dr William Collins, Royal Cornwall Gazette p 5, Cornishman p 4, Western Morning News p 7 (letter from his father, Mr JH Collins).
  3. TDM 1912 : 68/135.
  4. Maker’s mark (see photo below).
  5. Insertion, Royal Cornwall Gazette p 4, Western Daily Mercury p 8, West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser p 4 (contains description of subjects).
  6. TDK 1913 : 157.
  7. One of a pair (with s17) of lancets given by the same donors in memory of the same dedicatees at the same time.
  8. Mason, AJ, Life of William Edward Collins, Bishop of Gibraltar, London, , Longmans, Green & Co.

TO·THE·GLORY·OF·GOD,·IN·THANKFUL·MEMORY·OF·WILLIAM·EDWARD·COLLINS,·FIFTH·BISHOP·OF GIBRALTAR,·AND·MARY·HIS·WIFE,·THESE·WINDOWS·WERE·ERECTED·BY·FRIENDS·AND·KINSFOLK·.

s16. Joint dedication with s17.

s16 2 upper. St Boniface (–) is portrayed wearing a monastic habit. In his right hand he has a pastoral staff created by a pole with a cross lashed to it, whilst his left hand holds an open book in which is written Fides edita [sancti] Ambrosii [episcopi] De spiritu sancto, which is from the Ragyndrudis codex (Codex Bonifatianus II), one of three manuscripts said to have been in the possession of St Boniface and which, according to legend, he used to ward off the axes and swords of the Frisians who killed him. The book is pierced by a sword, symbolising his martyrdom.

COLUMBAN·BONIFACE·METHODIUS

s16 2 lower. The figure seated to the left represents St Columbanus (c–) with a Celtic tonsure, wearing a monastic habit, cloak and sandals. He holds a crook in his right hand. The figure seated to the right represents St Methodius (–), wearing the episcopal vestments of the Eastern orthodox church including the Eastern mitre or crown, with a heavy gold pectoral cross around his neck. His right hand is held up in the Greek Orthodox style of blessing. In his left hand he holds a book, the title of which is written in Old (pre-Revolutionary) Russian, rendered in modern Russian as Божественная Служба (Divine Service). We thank Deacon Pavel Kviatkevic for the identification and translation.

BONIFACE·CUTTING·DOWN·THE·OAK

s16 1. Boniface cutting down the oak raised to Wotan, sacred to the pagans, at Geismar in Lower Hessia.

Left-hand side of s16, s17 inscription Right-hand side of s16, s17 inscription

s16. The joint inscription with s17, at the bottom of the windows.

s16. The mark of the makers, Clayton and Bell, at the bottom right-hand corner of the window (just above the beginning of the word ‘MEMORY’ in the inscription). This and the adjacent window s17 are the only Clayton and Bell windows in the Cathedral known to contain a maker’s mark.