Leusdon, St John the Baptist
s3. Nave south 1
Entries in grey are not obtained from documentary evidence, but are inferred from content, context, etc.
Listed in the Imperial War Museum’s Register of War Memorials, reference 85369.
- Date of manufacture and insertion
- Number of lights
- 2
- Maker
- Orr, Arthur Anselm of Harrow
- Main subject
-
3. Lt Bolitho, as Sir Galahad, kneels before a vision of the Holy Grail 2b. Ship at sea 2e. 1a. The archangel Michael 1b. Lakenhalle, Ypres 1c. 1d. 1e. 1f. - Tracery subject
- Subject type
- Figurative historical
- Donors
- Parents of dedicatee:
- Lt Col William Edward Thomas Bolitho, DSO, of the Royal Devon Yeomanry
- Ethel Grace Bolitho, née Macleod
- Dedicatee
- Lt William Torquill Macleod Bolitho, 19th Royal Hussars, killed in action aged 22 at Château Hooge, Second Battle of Ypres
- Notes
-
- Window to be inserted. .
- Dedication (under the heading
Gulval
), - .
Two windows, Bolitho Memorials,
the other being . - Presentation of cartoons, coloured by Thomas Gotch, to Mousehole Royal British Legion,
- Window in memory of the same dedicatee at Paul, St Pol de Léon,
- MK Charter The Bolitho memorial windows at St John the Baptist, Leusdon, Devon.
- Pedigree of the donors and dedicatee of the window:
Pedigree will scroll horizontally if wider than screen. Larger version.
In proud remembrance of
William Torquill Macleod Bolitho
Lieut · Hussars
who fell in action at
Chateau Hooge 2nd battle of Ypres
“Promoted”
(Inscription on a plaque beside the window)
Fortitude
Tracery quatrefoil showing Fortitude, one of the Cardinal Virtues. He has been beaten to his knees, his sword is broken, an arrowhead is embedded in his shield and, behind him, the keep is on fire. Yet he is undaunted.
And you will speed us onward with a cheer
And wave beyond the stars that all is well.
(the last two lines of the the poem
‘Julian Grenfell’ by
Maurice Baring (–)).
The main scene in the left- and right-hand lights. Lt Bolitho, shown as Sir Galahad, kneels beside the road from Ypres to Hooge and the Holy Grail, surrounded by ministering angels, appears to him in a vision. He is clothed in a cope-like cloak of blue with an orphrey of gold, green, and white. The emblem of the Redemption is on his breastplate, and the white roses of England are woven into his chain mail shirt. He holds a flag on which is the Crusader Cross, and behind him stands his white horse. In the background the dawn breaks, shown as a thin red line of ruby glass, running straight across both lights.
In the borders of the two lights are various symbols or emblems, all of which have a naval or military significance. Going clockwise around the border of the left-hand light from the top are:
- The Anchor of Hope.
- The Cross of Redemption.
- The Crown of Gold.
- The Sword of the Spirit.
- The Tower of Strength.
- The Shield of Hope.
and going clockwise around the border of the right-hand light:
- The Burning Heart (of Charity).
- The Light of Faith.
- The Helmet of Salvation.
- A tabard with emblems of Knight Errantry.
- A ship (emblem of the sea).
- Oak Leaves (symbol of strength).
The poet Julian Grenfell (–) died two days after Lt Bolitho, of wounds received at Château Hooge thirteen days earlier.
And there was no more sea ()
2b. A ship at sea, probably a reference to the dedicatee’s short service in the Royal Navy, ended by persistent sea-sickness.
1a. St Michael, the patron saint of soldiers. He is shown in armour, holding a flaming sword in his right hand. With his left hand he is weighing souls in a pair of scales, the pure soul of a child (who has a nimbus) outweighing that of a devil.
Ypres
1b. The lakenhalle (Cloth Hall) in Ypres. This medieval commercial building was destroyed by artillery fire during the First World War and then reconstructed over a period of 30 years to its pre-war state.
1c. St Andrew. He is shown holding a saltire, or cross of St Andrew, made of two pieces of tree trunk tied together.
1c. St George. He is shown in armour, holding in his right hand a banner bearing the cross of St George. Part of a vanquished dragon is visible on his left.
re den (By God)
2e, 2e. Arms illustrating Lt Bolitho’s relationship with Cornish and Scottish families. At the bottom is the Bolitho motto (in the cartoon it is clearly RE DEN, but Burke gives it as Re Deu). Above it are the arms of Lt Bolitho’s father impaling those of his mother’s family. The arms of Bolitho of Trengwainton, Penzance, are ermine, on a plain chevron between two chevronels engrailed and three fleurs-de-lis sable five bezants (, , ). Borlase is ermine on a bend sable two hands and arms issuing out of the clouds at the elbows all proper rending a horseshoe or (). Trevelyan is gules a demi horse argent hoofed and maned or, issuing out of water in base proper (). Macleod of Cadboll (Mackenzie, Alexander. History of the Macleods, p 431. Inverness, A &W Mackenzie, ), quarterly 1st or, a mountain azure inflamed proper, 2nd gules three legs in armour conjoined at the upper part of the thigh proper, 3rd or, a lymphad sable flags gules, 4th azure, a castle triple-towered and embattled argent masoned sable windows and porch gules (). Above the coat of arms is a helmet, and above that the crest of Bolitho: in front of a fern-brake a cubit arm and hand erect proper vested azure charged with three bezants cuffed argent the hand holding a fleur-de-lis sable ().
1f. St Nicholas, the patron saint of children and sailors. He is shown dressed as a bishop (he was Bishop of Myra) and holding a ship, which is an emblem of his.
AAO
The mark of Arthur Anselm Orr who made the window.
Brass plaque beside the window.
The cartoon of the right-hand light. Left: before restoration. Centre: after restoration. Right: scan of the restored cartoon. Some of the emblems around the border have been changed in the window (going clockwise around the border from the top):
- The Burning Heart (of Charity).
- The Helmet of Salvation.
- Maybe thistle (Scottish symbol)?.
- Maybe oak tree (English symbol)?.
- Unidentified.
- The Light of Faith.
Scan copyright © PH Media, Ltd, Roche, Cornwall.