Updated: 9:30am, 2nd August, 2021
Norwich, UK
Vivid, vibrant and colourful – stained glass windows have been used since medieval times to illustrate Bible stories in churches and cathedrals around the UK.
Now they are attracting the attention of today’s social media savvy generations. A summer campaign – Stained Glass Summer, launched by the Church of England, has already attracted more than 400 posts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram sharing posts or videos of their church or cathedral windows.
The ‘Burne Jones Windows’ in St Philips Cathedral, Birmingham. PICTURE: Courtesy St Philips Cathedral, Birmingham
Rachel Roberts, senior digital communications manager at the Church of England, told Sight: “We ran a short campaign last year about stained glass and it was very successful, so churches and diocese asked us to do it again. It’s an opportunity for people to post about their stained glass windows, their beauty and the way they tell stories. One of the aims of the campaign is to attract more young people and children showing how the windows tell stories. People use hashtags to show what’s special and then our job is to reshare as much as possible.”
The Marc Chagall window in Chichester Cathedral. PICTURE: Ash Mills/Courtesy of Chichester Cathedral
Even before the campaign was officially launched at the beginning of July, images and posts were appearing.
“We are getting a real mixture on the hashtags,” said Roberts. “It is a completely organic take on the subject, it has a life of its own. It captures people’s imagination. They want to be involved and tell others about their special windows.”
Roberts said that while some posts are “simply highlighting the beauty of the windows, without giving additional context”, others, “more often local and parish churches are offering an invitation to their church to see the window in person.”
“Some parish churches are showing the activities they have for children to design their own stained glass windows using craft supplies. Other posts are providing historical insights as to who designed them and when they were made; others describe the symbolism of the imagery or who is pictured on it.”
Jane Bower, of the Association of English Cathedrals, was one such respondent, highlighting in her posts cathedrals like St Philip’s in Birmingham, and Westminster Abbey with their spectacular Burne Jones and David Hockney windows respectively.
While the Burne Jones windows feature traditional themes – the Nativity, Crucifixion, Ascension and Last Judgement – at Westminister Abbey, the David Hockney window celebrates the reign of Queen Elizabeth II with a vibrantly coloured country scene featuring hawthorn blossom using his classic palette of yellow, red, pink, orange and green.
Others being celebrated include Chichester Cathedral’s stunning Marc Chagall window which sets out to interpret Psalm 150, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” and contains all the musical instruments mentioned in the psalm, together with literature, animals and birds.
St Etheldreda depicted in a window at Ely Cathedral. PICTURE: Courtesy of Ely Cathedral
Renowned medieval windows such as those of York and Durham have been also appearing across social media as have windows in Rochester, Exeter, Worcester, Ely, Liverpool, Wakefield, Bristol, Southwark and Wells cathedrals.
At Ely Cathedral, the focus hasn’t just been on medieval glass such as that depicting St Etheldreda, but also a new acquisition for its Stained Glass Museum, a larger than life portrait of a young black man by Kehinde Wiley.
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One of the unusual features that has appeared within this campaign has been the way in which people have identified with the sheer range of stories that have appeared in windows, especially in what are their local churches.
Stained glass has also been used to highlight local links such as in St Leonard’s Church Bretforton, Evesham, in Worcestershire where the stained glass features asparagus, reflecting its importance in the local economy. Other local themed windows can be seen in St Andrews Church in Taunton, Somerset, which has a railway themed window.
Left – Stained glass in St Leonard’s Church Bretforton, Evesham, depicting asparagus and, right, Kehinde Wiley’s window in Ely Cathedral’s Stained Glass Museum. PICTURES: Courtesy of St Leonard’s Church Bretforton and Ely Cathedral
Churches have been inventive in their invitations. A posting from Pershore Abbey in Worcestershire, for example, invites people to come in and see just how many they can discover highlighting Victorian examples from the George Gilbert Scott restoration between 1862-1864 while St Peters Church, Babraham, in Cambridgeshire has stressed the way it has managed to combine history with an invitation to the church.
