A Yorkshire Miscellany: October 2017: Part 2: Some reflections

I've seen a few stained glass windows (and I do not differentiate between stained or painted glass) in my time and I never cease to be impressed by the artistry, skill and symbolism that they embody. My favourite era?  Mmmm, that's difficult to answer as they all have something to commend them. But if I had to choose, I'd go for the imaginative, the colourful, the ancient or the modern. Oh, that seems to cover most of them. Here are a few that we came across oop North last month, with a few plain windows included for good measure.

The east window (the one behind the altar) in Holy Trinity church in Gilling East. Apparently it's a fine example of a Victorian reticulated design. But you knew that already, didn't you?

A window in the Elizabethan Great Hall of Helmsley Castle, looking out on the deer park of Duncombe House, a scene that will not have changed for centuries.

A rather older window from the lower levels of the Great Hall. It wasn't so much the shadows that caught my eye but the graffiti on the right hand wall. Initials from long ago: I wonder what stories lay behind them?

More graffiti on the walls of this one as well. Possibly the tales here would be more interesting as this room doubled up as a dungeon at one time.

And now to Shibden Hall, just outside of Halifax, with it's fine display of original stained glass from the 15th Century. Here's one detail of a grotesque carrying a fish. Is it a work of the artist's imagination or their depiction of how they saw something that had been described to them? I'm reminded of a painting I've seen in a building of a similar vintage, North Mymms Park, just off the M25. That painting is of an elephant, which the artist had not seen and for which he was working from written descriptions. His portrayal was reasonably accurate, with the major exceptions that he's given his elephant webbed feet and a pair of wings!

This one is thought to be of a demon playing some pipes. It looks as if his genitals have been mutilated over time or, perhaps, just rubbed out by repeated touchings over the years? You know the sort of thing I mean: "Oh look, Sid, it's got a willy. Here it is".

And here they are in situ. It's amazing to think that they have survived 500+ years without being broken.

Here's one I particularly like. Our host for our Yorkshire break was, until recently, deputy mayor of Calderdale Unitary Authority. Pulling a few strings, he arranged for a very interesting private guided tour of the Council Chamber and Mayoral Parlour in the Halifax Town Hall. This is the stained glass of the canopy over the Council Chamber. Who would have thought that when my friend and I first met at Bassaleg Grammar School way back in September 1959, we'd end up in Halifax Town Hall together in 2017? A lot of water has flown under our bridges since then.

All Saints Church in the very pleasant market town of Helmsley. It was rebuilt in 1849 extensively and it contains little of its Saxon origins. It is notable for 19th-century wall paintings of St Oswald and this magnificent window depicting scenes from the life of St Columba.

A lovely church but a lousy guide with no mention of what this window in the porch was. The porch, I think, is a Victorian addition so it's a relatively modern piece of work. What attracted me was the light behind illuminating the quite muted colours.

An even more modern example of the window maker's art. And, again, no mention of it in the church guide or, for that matter, on the internet. This was in the porch but partially obscured by a recently installed automatically-opening door. Confession time: I think I might have pushed the door off one of its runners as I tried to hold it back to get a full shot of the window. In the event, I failed to get the shot I wanted but succeeded in knackering the door (just for a while, a robust application of a shoulder pushed it back into place).

The window tells a story. But what? And of whom? Obviously the window is dedicated to the memory of this kneeling man. it would be nice to remember him by name. Who is he? And how did he live his life?