The Bolitho memorial windows at St John the Baptist, Leusdon, Devon
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Lt William Bolitho was the son of Maj (later Lt Col) William Edward Thomas Bolitho of York House, Penzance, and his wife Ethel Grace Bolitho, née Macleod. He died on 7 at Château Hooge, in the second battle of Ypres during the First World War. This window, on the south side of the nave, was donated by the Bolitho family in his memory. It was designed and made by Arthur Anselm Orr of Harrow1 and dedicated on 2. Just over a year later, a five-light window made by Robert Anning Bell, also donated by the Bolitho family in memory of Lt Bolitho, was inserted above the altar in the church of St Pol de Léon, Paul, in Cornwall. Many of the themes in the Leusdon window reappear in the Paul window, and it is interesting to compare the two.
The main subject, Lt Bolitho as Sir Galahad is the principal theme in the Paul window which, like this window, shows the road from Ypres to Hooge and quotes the last two lines of the poem by Maurice Baring.
At the bottom of the two lights are various figures and objects that illustrate aspects of
Lt Bolitho’s family and career in the armed services (he was in the Royal Navy before
he joined the army). St Michael (Figure 4), in the bottom left-hand corner, is the patron saint of
soldiers, while St Nicholas (Figure 5), in the bottom right-hand corner, is the patron saint of
sailors. St Andrew (Figure 6) is the patron saint of Scotland (his mother’s family was Scottish),
while St George (Figure 7) is the patron saint of England (his father’s family was English).
The ship medallion (Figure 8) is another reference to his
earlier naval career (and the quotation And there was no more sea
may be a humorous reference to its ending by his chronic sea-sickness).
Ypres (Figure 9) is the town in Flanders near which he died, and was also represented in the window at Paul.
Lt Bolitho’s coat of arms (Figure 10) is in the Paul window as well.
The themes of the good fight and the crusade against evil are present in at least four of the window's scenes: the depiction of Lt Bolitho as the knight Sir Galahad, Fortitude in the tracery, St Michael in the left-hand light weighing good against evil, and St George in the right-hand light after slaying the dragon.
The original designs of the window were presented by Mrs Bolitho to the Mousehole branch of the Royal British Legion on .3. The cartoons were coloured by Thomas Gotch of Paul, a noted local artist. The surviving cartoon of the right-hand light is shown in Figure 12a.
In , with the assistance of the President of the Mousehole Royal British Legion, Graham Prodger, the cartoon for the right-hand light of the window was rescued from Mousehole RBL’s “glory hole” and professionally restored. The original, restored cartoon is on display in the Assembly Room of Truro Cathedral Old Choir School. PH Media of Roche, Cornwall, generously scanned the restored original. Their scanner reproduces colours accurately and duplicates textured surfaces, to a depth of 8 mm, particularly well (Figure 12a, right). A full-size print, made from the scan and also provided by PH Media, will be presented to Leusdon Church in for display in the church.
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Simon Bruce Tormod Bolitho was the younger brother of Lt William Bolitho, and died five years before him, aged four4. This window in his memory is on the north side of the nave, directly opposite his older brother’s memorial window. It was inserted in and was also made by Arthur Anselm Orr.5.
References
- Memorial window to Lt William Bolitho to be inserted. copy), . (
- Insertion of window in memory of Lt William Bolitho and description of window in memory of Simon Bolitho, copy). (
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copy).
This article states that the window was
in memory of Torquil [sic] Bolitho, 19th Royal Hussars, and Torquil Macleod, R.N., H.M.S. Goliath, both killed in action in the Great War
, although there is no reference to Torquil Macleod (the cousin of Lt William Torquill Macleod Bolitho) either in the Leusdon window or on the brass plaque next to it (his name does appear in the church on a separate memorial to men of the parish killed in the First World War). He is mentioned, however, on the memorial tablet adjacent to the Bolitho memorial window in St Pol de Léon, Paul. The also reports the colouring of the cartoons by Thomas Gotch and their donation to Mousehole Royal British Legion by Mrs Bolitho, but states incorrectly that the window is in Widdicombe [sic] church.
( - , .
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Faculty Petition
(Faculty Petitions, Widecombe: Leusdon, 3. Bolitho window, 1911.
Devon Heritage Centre, Exeter).
Faculty granted .
On the back of the drawing (Figure 17) submitted with the Faculty Petition is written
Window designed by Arthur Orr for Leusdon Church.
The cost of the window was estimated in the petition to be £90. - Two Bolitho memorial windows by Arthur Anselm Orr in Leusdon Parish Church.
- Death of Lt William Bolitho , .