The Fairford stained glass is a set of 28 pre-

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

stained glass windows located in St Mary's Church, Fairford, Gloucestershire. The medieval stained glass panes are of national historical and architectural importance as they constitute what is "probably the most complete set of medieval stained glass in Britain" consisting of 28 windows displaying biblical scenes. They were added after the church had been rebuilt by the wealthy wool merchant

John Tame John Tame (c. 1430 - 8 May 1500) of Cirencester and of Beauchamp Court (or "Warwick Court") in the parish of Fairford, both in Gloucestershire, England, was a wealthy wool producer and merchant who re-built the surviving St. Mary's Church, Fair ...

(c.1430–1500). The glass was made between 1500 and 1517 under the instructions of his son, Edward Tame. The panes were once known as an example of Netherlandish-style glass painting, however they are now attributed to the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

glazier

Barnard Flower Barnard Flower (died July or August 1517) was a Flemish glazier. He was King's Glazier to Henry VII and Henry VIII from 1505 to 1517, the first non-Englishman to hold this office. Flower came to work in England in the late 15th century. By 1496 ...

(d.1517), glazier to King Henry VII (1485–1509), and according to some sources, also to John Thornton of Coventry and

Galyon Hone Galyon Hone (died 1552) was a glazier from Bruges who worked for Henry VIII of England at Hampton Court and in other houses making stained glass windows. His work involved replacing the heraldry and ciphers of Henry VIII's wives in windows when th ...

. Several sources indicate that the overall design windows can probably be credited to Richard Fox, Bishop of Durham, later of Winchester. The traditional story concerning the origin of the windows is related as follows by the Gloucestershire historian Bigland (d.1784) in his ''Account of the Parish of Fairford'': :"About the year 1492 soon after the Siege of Boloigne, a vessel bound to the port of Rome from the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

and laden with painted glass, is said to have been taken by him (i.e. John Tame) who instantly determined on preparing a church here for its reception". Most of the 28 windows comprise four separate lancets, usually each one displaying a different but related, biblical scene, beneath painted gothic canopy-work. Six smaller lights occupy the space at the apex of the gothic arched windows, usually displaying decorative features of angels, where the scenes below are supportive of the Christian faith, or of devils where opposed.

Survival over the centuries

The glass survived the

when many images in English churches were destroyed. In 1642, during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, they narrowly avoided destruction when the

Roundhead Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...

army was marching on the nearby town of

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

. It was customary at that time for cavalry of both sides to convert churches into temporary stables and barracks with little regard paid to the fabric of the buildings. The more

puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

elements amongst the Roundheads were opposed to the pre-Reformation's so-called

idolatrous Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the A ...

imagery, making it likely that the stained glass would be destroyed. However, on the quick-thinking order of William Oldysworth, the impropriator (lessee) of the

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...

s of Fairford, the windows were hurriedly dismantled and the glass concealed before the troops arrived in the vicinity. "To him the lovers of ancient art are indebted for its present existence" (Bigland, 1791). It may have been during the re-erection of the glass after the Civil War when some of the panes were replaced in the wrong positions. In 1725 the glass was protected by the addition of a "lattice of wire" to each window, paid for at the great cost of £200 by Elizabeth Fermor, a daughter of

William Fermor, 1st Baron Leominster William Fermor, 1st Baron Leominster (''alias'' Lempster) (3 August 1648 – 7 December 1711), styled Sir William Fermor, 2nd Baronet from 1661 to 1692, was an English politician and peer. Biography Fermor was the second but eldest surviving s ...

(1648–1711), by his first wife Jane Barker, a daughter of Andrew Barker of Fairford. Andrew Barker was of the ancient Barker (''alias'' De Calverhall) family of Coverall (or Calverhall) castle and

Hopton Castle Hopton Castle is situated in the village of the same name which lies approximately halfway between Knighton and Craven Arms, in the English county of Shropshire. Hopton Castle featured in the British TV series ''Time Team'' in 2010. A ruin si ...

both in Shropshire, and had acquired the manor of Fairford in about 1660. A few of the panes were damaged during a storm in November 1703; they were either repaired, some being modified or replaced. During 1889-90 twenty-six windows were repaired and re-leaded. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the stained glass windows were removed and stored in a cellar for safekeeping from 1939 to 1945. A conservation and restoration programme began in 1988 and finished in 2010. Clear glass now protects the old glass.

Descriptions

Descriptions of the history and imagery of the windows is contained in the following sources: * Bigland, Ralph, ''An Account of the Parish of Fairford in the County of Gloucester with a Particular Description of the Stained Glass in the Windows of the Church, Engravings of Ancient Monuments with Inscriptions, etc., etc.'', London, 1791
pp. 6–10
*Neale, John Mason, (ed.) ''Illustrations of Monumental Brasses'', No.VI, Cambridge Camden Society, Cambridge, 1846
pp. 115–132

Images

The 28 stained glass windows in St Mary's Church, Fairford, are shown below, numbered and described by Neale, John Mason, (ed.) ''Illustrations of Monumental Brasses'', No.VI, Cambridge Camden Society, Cambridge, 1846, pp. 115–132

Survival over the centuries

Descriptions

Images

References

Further reading