Truro, Cathedral Church of St Mary
n23 . North nave aisle 2
Entries in grey
are not obtained from documentary evidence, but
are inferred from content, context, etc .
Date of manufacture and insertion
1895
Number of lights
1
Maker
Clayton & Bell
Main subject
2 upper.
The Venerable Bede
2 lower.
Alcuin,
John of Damascus
1 .
Death of Bede at Jarrow, dictating the translation of St John’s Gospel
Donor
Freemasons of Cornwall and other friends
Dedicatee
Thomas Chirgwin,
former Mayor of Truro,
died 3rd September 1894
Notes
Death of dedicatee
Royal Cornwall Gazette September 6, 1894 p 5 .
Plan for memorial to dedicatee
Western Daily Mercury January 10, 1895 p 6 ,
Royal Cornwall Gazette January 10, 1895 p 8 ,
Western Morning News January 10, 1895 p 3 .
Memorial window to be inserted
Cornishman January 17, 1895 p 2 .
Meeting of Chirgwin Memorial Committee, £125 raised or promised, £100 more needed.
Western Morning News April 24, 1895 p 5 ,
Royal Cornwall Gazette April 25, 1895 p 5 .
Sufficient money for single-light window raised
Western Morning News September 17, 1895 p 5 ,
Royal Cornwall Gazette September 19, 1895 p 4 ,
Cornubian and Redruth Times October 11, 1895 p 2 ,
Western Morning News October 14, 1895 p 5 ,
Royal Cornwall Gazette October 17, 1895 p 4 ,
Cornishman October 24, 1895 p 3 (describes predella).
Insertion
Western Morning News December 23, 1895 p 5 (detailed description of predella),
Western Morning News December 23, 1895 p 7 [repeat of previous article in same edition!],
Royal Cornwall Gazette December 26, 1895 p 5 .
TCM/590/2 Account letter.
To the glory of God and in memory of Thomas Chirgwin
Mayor of Truro at rest
3rd September A.D. 1894
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2 upper.
Bede is portrayed clean shaven, bare footed and wearing a monastic habit.
He is looking upwards, as to heaven.
His left hand holds his book
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
(The Ecclesiastical History of the English People),
whilst his right holds a quill.
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ALCUIN. VEN: BEDE. JOHN DAMASCENE.
2 lower.
On the left is Alcuin wearing a monastic habit.
His left knee supports a book
Bædæ Opera
(Bede’s Works).
On the right is St John of Damascus,
clothed in a monastic habit girdled at the centre,
with a cowl over his head. He is writing in a book,
probably a reference to his work
De Fide Orthodoxa
(On the Orthodox Faith).
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BAEDA · EVANGELIO · IMMORITUR
(Bede dies with the gospel)
1 .
The death of Bede at Jarrow in
735 .
Bede lies in the centre,
concluding his translation of St John’s Gospel which lies beside him.
His head and shoulders are supported by another monk so that he
can catch a last sight of the church of Jarrow, where he spent much
of his life. Four other monks stand in the background.
A priest assisted by two boys, each wearing a cassock
and cotta
(short surplice) and holding a candle, reads to him.
On the left stands a figure in a dark habit and cowl, his
face unseen, probably symbolising the approach of Death,
towards whom Bede seems to be extending his right arm.
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The inscription at the base of the window.
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