BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON HISTORIC CHURCHES 32nd ANNUAL EDITION 31 allowing light to flood in below and illuminate the pulpit. There is much less emphasis than had been the custom on Gothic Revival windows of flat areas of primary colours, though there are some ‘jewels’ comprising tiny inserts of contrasting colour. Increasing choices from different manufacturers of slab glass that were thick and variable required different lead sizes and styles. In the Journal of Stained Glass, Peter Cormack stated that ‘there is probably no British stained glass artist who could match Strachan’s ability to draw with lead.’ He had developed a rich symbolism and a palette previously unknown in Scotland which was to have a huge impact on stained glass in Scotland and beyond for the rest of the century. Although Alf Webster – who tragically died in the first world war so never reached anything like his full potential – has been cited as a possible rival for the pre-eminence of Strachan, he was actually mentored by Douglas. Strachan’s influence was profound. Purple has always been symbolic of the Passion of Christ, the ultimate act of love and sacrifice; when Jesus was brought before Pilate, his soldiers placed a purple robe on Jesus as a sign of mockery. That purple appears across the window, including the cross which, in stained glass, is more usually wood-coloured or green to represent eternity. The symbols of self-sacrifice and resurrection (the pelican piercing its breast to feed its young and the phoenix) are shown against a purple background, both unifying the colour scheme and reinforcing the idea of love and sacrifice. The phoenix in fabulous golds and reds of fire has the green of eternity at its centre. Jesus at the Last Supper is framed in blue, the colour of heaven. The paler, gentler, shimmering shades of the Last Supper give way to the stronger more urgent colours of the crucifixion above, with rich, streaky glasses particularly on the angels on either side of Jesus. The use of plated glass added yet more richness and complexity to the colour. The tracery is the least adventurous element of the window, full of little angels, but can easily be ignored. The glorious window below, with its fabulous glasses, masterly paintwork and incredible leadwork will completely absorb you. RONA MOODY is Hon Secretary of the Scottish Stained Glass Trust and a stained glass artist, conservator and historian based in Stirling: secretary@ssgt.org.uk. prestigious windows that are nonetheless of great quality. The Great East Window, erected in 1920 for St John’s Kirk in Perth above the site of the high altar in the medieval church was, and is, the most important window in the kirk. The Perthshire Advertiser declared his window ‘one of the finest in Scotland’; how much knowledge of the craft its art critic had is not known but it certainly reflected the general feeling when the window was installed. Although the window was installed just after the war and depicts the crucifixion, it is simply a memorial to the McNaughton family, not a war memorial. The restoration of St John’s, which commenced in 1923, was intended as a memorial to those who lost their lives and was overseen by Sir Robert Lorimer, who also received the commission to design the National Shrine. A new stained glass window for the east end was mooted in the 1890s; in fact, in 1827 Edinburgh firm Millidge and Hunt had produced a design for the east window, though that would have been purely decorative as figurative art was frowned on at that time. By the time Strachan came to design his window, religious subjects were the norm. The crucifixion is a standard subject for an east window, and I assume the window’s theme, paid for from a legacy from Miss Eliza McNaughton in memory of her family, was chosen as appropriate in that position. The five-light window is divided into three sections. The central part of the upper two thirds of the window depicts the crucifixion while the outer lancets of this upper part of the window feature John the Baptist (to whom St John’s Kirk is dedicated). Across the whole lower section of the window is shown the Last Supper. Strachan’s images fill the windows with much use of sparkling, lozengeshaped quarries and narrow borders of light and dark. Colourless or tinted thick glass, using the recent introduction of Norman slab glass, in conjunction with rich purples, soft pinks, blues, browns and greens are used for the Last Supper,
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