Brampton, St Mary Magdalene
South aisle 1
Entries in grey
are not obtained from documentary evidence, but
are inferred from content, context, etc .
Date of manufacture and insertion
1887
Number of lights
4
Maker
Fouracre & Watson
Main subject
2a .
St Catherine of Alexandria
2b ,
2c .
Annunciation to the Virgin Mary
2d .
St Cecilia
1a .
Mystical marriage of St Catherine
1b .
Journey of the Magi to Jerusalem
1c .
Adoration of the shepherds
1d .
St Cecilia making music / singing
Tracery subject
Angels playing musical instruments.
Subject type
Narrative
Donor
Edward Montague, eighth Earl of Sandwich, son of dedicatee.
Dedicatee
Mary Montague, née Paget,
second daughter of Field Marshal the Marquess of Anglesey,
first wife of the seventh Earl of Sandwich,
died 20th February 1859 .
Designs
Angel playing viol (Second tracery angel from right. Angel playing viol)
1888 . Draynes, St Agatha, [unknown location] . Angel playing viol.
1908 . West Worlington, St Mary, South aisle east . Left-hand tracery angel. Angel playing viol.
Angel playing small, pointed harp (Third tracery angel from right. Angel playing harp)
1888 . Draynes, St Agatha, [unknown location] . Angel playing harp.
Angel playing long trumpet (Leftmost tracery angel. Angel playing long trumpet)
1888 . Draynes, St Agatha, [unknown location] . Angel playing long trumpet.
Angel playing lute (Rightmost tracery angel. Angel playing lute)
1888 . Draynes, St Agatha, [unknown location] . Angel playing lute.
Angel playing small, rounded harp (Leftmost tracery angel. Angel playing harp)
1888 . Draynes, St Agatha, [unknown location] . Angel playing harp.
Angel playing model organ (Third tracery angel. Angel playing organ)
1908 . West Worlington, St Mary, South aisle east . Second tracery angel. Angel playing organ.
Cecilia playing organ (Right-hand predella. Cecilia playing organ)
1908 . West Worlington, St Mary, South aisle east . Right-hand predella. Cecilia playing organ.
Angel Gabriel holding lily at Annunciation (Second light. Angel Gabriel at Annunciation)
1915 . Brendon, St Brendan, Chancel south 1 . Angel Gabriel at Annunciation.
Blessed Virgin Mary (Third light. Blessed Virgin Mary at Annunciation)
1887 . Widecombe in the Moor, St Pancras, South aisle east . 2b . Blessed Virgin Mary.
1915 . Brendon, St Brendan, Chancel south 2 . Blessed Virgin Mary at Annunciation.
Notes
Death of dedicatee,
Morning Post February 21, 1859 p 5 ,
Wolverhampton Chronicle and Staffordshire Advertiser February 23, 1859 p 7 .
Maker, insertion,
Western Morning News June 4, 1887 p 5 .
Designed by John Brown,
Waters W, Carew-Cox A, Damozels and Deities;
Pre-Raphaelite Stained Glass
1870 –1898 . Seraphim Press, 2017 .
The designs for Gabriel and the Blessed Virgin Mary were re-used in about 1914
for windows in the
sanctuary and
chancel respectively
of
St Brendan , Brendon, in Devon.
To the Glory of God and to the memory of Mary Countess of Sandwich this window is dedicated
by her son Edward 8th Earl of Sandwich
The Annunciation window.
Tracery above the left-hand light,
showing angels playing musical instruments. The left-hand angel is playing a harp and the
right-hand angel is playing a trumpet.
Tracery above the second light,
showing two angels. The left-hand angel is playing an organ (with the shortest pipes at the
left-hand end!) and the right-hand angel is clasping its hands in prayer.
Tracery above the third light,
showing two angels. The left-hand angel is clasping its hands in prayer and the
right-hand angel is playing a harp.
Tracery above the right-hand light,
showing two angels. The left-hand angel is playing a viol or violin and the
right-hand angel is playing a plucked, four-stringed instrument.
Saint Catherine Mar[tyr]
The left-hand light shows St Catherine of Alexandria. Her left hand rests on a wheel, the instrument
of her martrydom, and in her right hand she holds a martyr’s palm frond.
The left-hand predella shows the Mystical Marriage of St Catherine of Alexandria, a legend that first appeared
in the medieval Golden Legend . On the right is the Blessed Virgin Mary,
in her usual colour of blue, holding the Infant Jesus
who is putting a ring on St Catherine’s finger, by which St Catherine
consecrates herself and her virginity to Him.
The scene shown in a predella usually illustrates an aspect of the subject of the main
panel above it, as in this case.
The Annunciation. The angel Gabriel, on the left, tells the Blessed Virgin Mary
that she will conceive and bear the child Jesus
(Luke 1:26–38 ).
Gabriel holds a lily, the symbol
of virginity, and at Mary’s feet are roses, also symbols of purity and perfection.
The second predella,
showing the three Magi accompanied by a page boy. The central figure, with white hair
and flowing beard, is Caspar. The figure on the left has a grey beard, so may be the
middle-aged Melchior, in which case Balthazar, a young man, is on the right.
The journey of the Magi to worship the infant
Jesus is, like the Nativity in the next predella, an event that followed
on from the Annunciation shown in the main panels above it.
The third predella,
showing the Nativity. The Blessed Virgin Mary holds the infant Jesus. On the left
is Joseph, holding a staff. In the background on the right are angels playing harps.
A man, perhaps a shepherd, kneels at Mary’s feet while at the left in the background
is a horned ox and, on the far right, a sheep.
The Nativity is, like the journey of the Magi in the previous predella,
an event that followed
on from the Annunciation shown in the main panels above it.
Saint Cecilia Mar[tyr]
The right-hand light shows St Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians, carrying an organ supported on a knotted strip of fabric. Her left hand is on the
keyboard and her right hand is working the bellows to provide the air for the instrument (which has the shorter, higher-pitched
pipes at the left-hand end of the keyboard, presumably to help the pictorial composition of the scene).
The right-hand predella
shows St Cecilia seated at a keyboard, probably of an organ,
singing while angels listen. This is a common representation
of her, because at her wedding she sang in her heart to God.
The scene illustrates the line She drew an angel down
from Alexander’s Feast, or the Power of Music ,
an ode by John Dryden.
The guitar hanging up unused illustrates her rejection of the earthly
instruments of Bacchus in favour of heavenly music.
Once again, this interpretation of the scene in the predella illustrates
an aspect of the subject of the main panel above it.