Stained Glass in the Church
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The West Window
| At the back of the church you will find the West Window. This beautiful window is dedicated to the memory of Sir Oliver and Lady Riddell. It is known as the ‘founders window’ and appropriately takes the theme of buildings and beginnings of the church. Notice the many pomegranates, which, with their proliferation of seeds, symbolise the many believers in the church. |
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| Key: |
| 1. The Chi Rho (a symbol of Christ) 2. The Triquetra and Circle (representing “three in one” – the Trinity) 3. Bishops Mitre with two crosiers in a saltire (symbol of the Scottish Episcopal Church) 4. Noah’s Ark 5. King David of Israel, who prepared the first Temple at Jerusalem 6 and 7. Jesus and his Disciples – the beginning of the Christian Church 8. King David l of Scotland, builder of Holyrood Abbey 9. Symbol of Saint Matthew. 10 Symbol of Saint Mark 11. Symbol of Saint Luke 12. Symbol of Saint John The symbols for the creatures representing these four Gospel writers come originally from Revelation 4:7. |
The Pulpit Window
| The window by the pulpit was gifted by Mrs A Jameison in memory of her son who died in 1895. |
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| The window was constructed in 1897 to designs by Henry Holiday – a pre-Raphaelite artist best known today for his stained glass designs. In 1863 he became chief glass designer at Powell and Sons London, stained glass makers (after Burne Jones had left the previous year). Holiday fulfilled more than 300 commissions, many for American clients and there were around seven of his windows in Edinburgh. Holiday designed our window as a set of three lights in 1892 personifying Faith above Life, Hope over Death and Love over Resurrection, but we have only two of the set, representing Hope/Death and Love/Resurrection. The full set of three can be seen at Chelmsford Cathedral and Tamworth Parish Church – see illustration on right. Also, note the different colour scheme used there. |  |
The Peel Massey Memorial Window
| This window is in more conventional style compared to the Hope Window (above) and dates from 1907. |
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| The window depicts Jesus saying to his disciples “Feed my sheep”. The window was donated by church members in memory of their first Rector the Reverend Xavier Peel Massey. |
The East Window
| The window behind the altar is the resurrection window gifted by Sir Oliver and Lady Riddell. |
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| The window bears the inscription “He is not here but is risen” and “To the Glory of God, Alexander Oliver Riddell and his wife Jean Fazacerley have set by these windows 1897”. |
The St Cuthbert’s Window
| The window is similar in style to the east-window, both windows being made from English glass, which Rowand Anderson preferred to bright continental glass. He believed that bright stained glass windows distorted the harmony of mediaeval style interiors. |
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| Saint Cuthbert holds the head of Oswald, Christian King of Northumbria. |
The Lady Chapel Window
| The Lady Chapel is dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus and the window was originally on the south of the chancel. |
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| Mary’s emblem the lily and fleur–de–lis can be seen around the window, which was stained in 1935. |
| The left panel depicts Saint Margaret with Edinburgh Castle Rock and Saint Margaret’s Chapel behind her right shoulder. Her symbol, the marguerite, is in the lower right–hand corner. |
| The middle panel depicts Mary, mother of Jesus, and two lily flowers. |
| The right panel depicts Saint George with the slain dragon. In the lower right–hand corner is the regimental badge of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers. |
The Baptistry Window
| This window is unique, as Matthew Ochterlony, a prominent member of the congregation, designed and constructed it himself in memory of his father David in 1943. In doing so, he is thought to have worked in collaboration with his artist friend Andrew Watson Turnbull. |
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| The window is known as the ‘jewel window’, as, on sunny days, it reflects all the colours of the rainbow on to the surrounding walls. |
| There is no record of the message portrayed by the subject matter, but for various interpretations of the window’s design, click Here |