To thine own self be true
(Shakespeare, W. Hamlet,
Act I Scene III,
Polonius’ advice to Laertes)
In memory of Charles Keeler OBE –
and Mamie –
This window is in memory of Charles Henry Keeler, inventor,
businessman, yachtsman—a resident of Flushing for twenty five years
and a warden of St Peter’s. The window was designed and made by
Alan Younger,
FMGP
Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters
,
and installed by him in .
Mamie Keeler’s name has been added, following her death in
, and the new pane installed in
.
Running horizontally across the window is a feeling of landscape;
fields, hills, water, sea and sky. Overall there are wing-shapes and
movement and a dove suggesting the presence of the Holy Spirit
and themes connected with passages from the Bible—for example,
creation from Genesis: And the Spirit of God moved upon the face
of the waters
, Noah and the flood and the dove returning with
the olive leaf; and baptism.
(John 1:32).
Seven stars represent the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The sun at the centre of the window
and the moon below are ancient symbols of the Resurrection; these link with the cycle of
the Seasons, suggested by the cool colours for Spring and Winter, and the warm colours
for Summer and Autumn.
A brief quotation—one of Charles Keeler’s favourite passages from Shakespeare,
Polonius’s speech to Laertes in Hamlet, appears in the base
of the window.
(From a description displayed in the church near the window)
Photograph copyright © Peter Hildebrand
High-resolution image will start to load shortly …