St Francis, St Patrick and St Edmund, by C. E. Moore in St Martin's, West Acton, London. The three lights in this second south aisle window come from different or unknown dates, St Edmund apparently the latest, from 1945. The first, of unknown date, is a delightful one of St Francis, not in memory of any particular person but "A THANKOFFERING FROM ANIMAL LOVERS," showing a rabbit, a dog and a bird on a tree, with lines from the Benedicite, about fowls, beast and cattle praising God. St Patrick in the middle has a fine handful of shamrock, a shamrock in his crook, and a harp above him, while St Edmund, the original patron saint of England, reflects the war that had just ended: as King of East Anglia, he fought with King Alfred against pagan invaders in the ninth century and was finally captured by the Vikings and martyred — killed by their arrows. So this thanksgiving for victory, given by the Mayor of Acton and others (as the inscription tells us), also sombrely remembers the sacrifice involved.
Photograph by John Salmon, text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. Photograph reproduced here by kind permission of the Rev. Nicholas Henderson. It may be used without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer, and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. Click on the image to enlarge it.
Related Material
- St Martin's, West Acton (exterior)
- St Martin's, West Acton (interior)
- Windows by Goddard & Gibbs at St Martin's
Bibliography
Eberhard, Robert. "St Martin's, West Acton." Church Stained Glass Windows. Web. 30 June 2017.
"St Edmund: Original Patron Saint of England." Historic UK. Web. 30 June 2017.
Last modified 30 June 2017