North Aisle & West Window

The window on the west wall of the north aisle, to the right as one enters the church, commemorates three children of the Firth family. It dates from 1892 and shows from left to right: the Virgin Mary – Blessed are the pure in heart; Jesus as the Good Shepherd – He shall gather the lambs with His arm; and the call of St John – Follow Me; with appropriate symbols below – lilies, pelican, chalice.

The three windows along the north aisle came from the second church:

The first window (nearest the porch) shows the Nativity and the visit of the three Wise Men (on the left) and the Shepherds (on the right) – All kings shall fall down before Him and all nations shall serve Him. The dedication is to Benjamin Hargreave Labron who died of yellow fever, aged 21, in St Thomas, West Indies, in 1865.

The central window shows the women and the Angel at the tomb, with the risen Jesus above – Now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept. This window, dated 1871, is dedicated to John Long (died 1823), his wife, Mary Long (died 1870), and William Robert Long their only child (died in 1817 aged 5 years).

The final window portrays the Child Jesus in the Temple – I must be about my Father’s business(Luke 2:41-50). It was designed and executed by Knowles of York, and dedicated on Whitsunday 1889 as a memorial to John Thackeray (1821-1888), Headmaster of the Town (later St Michael’s) School for 28 years and Superintendent of the Sunday School for 31 years.

The west end of this aisle is now used to welcome visitors when the church is open during the week.

The West Window

The large window over the West door is a memorial to the Revd Henry Tuckwell, Vicar 1865-1881. It was dedicated on All Saints Day 1886. The illustrations portray the ministry of angels. There are three scenes in each of the four lights and all except one are from the Old Testament. These are described below.

In the bottom row (left to right): God creates Eve from Adam’s rib (Genesis ch.2); Adam and Eve are expelled from the garden of Eden (Genesis ch.3); Abraham with the angels, who tell him that his wife Sarah will have a son (Genesis ch.18); Jacob dreams of a ladder from earth to heaven, with angels ascending and descending (Genesis ch.28).

In the centre row: Balaam’s donkey is stopped by an angel (Numbers ch.22); God commands King David to build an altar (2 Samuel ch.24); the prophet Elijah, resting under a juniper tree in the desert, is told by an angel to eat and drink (1 Kings ch.19); the prophet Elisha and his servant, surrounded by the Syrian army (2 Kings ch.6).

In the top row: the angel of God destroys the army of Sennacherib, King of Assyria (2 Kings ch.19); the prophet Isaiah sees in a vision an angel bringing an ember from the altar to purify him (Isaiah ch.6); Daniel is protected from the lions by an angel (Daniel ch.6); Zacharias is told by the archangel Gabriel that his wife Elizabeth will bear a son (John the Baptist) (Luke ch.1).

The tracery at the top has three trefoils. The transfiguration in the centre is flanked by the baptism of Christ and the scene from John 12:28-30.