The First Fruits

The Good Life. Alfred Webster. North Nave, New Kilpatrick Parish Church, Bearsden. This three light window shows the prophet Micah illustrating the inscribed text: “What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy and walk humbly with thy God (Micah 6:8).” Merchant, soldier, king, and ecclesiastic, all kneel humbly. The window dates between 1912 and 1914.

New Kirkpatrick Church, Bearsden is listed as a category A building due to its extraordinary collection of stained glass and the antiquity of the churchyard that surrounds it. The present church dates from 1808 and a series of successive campaigns essentially completed the building by 1910. A new porch was added in 1972. Alfred Webster designed a number of windows before his untimely death in World War I in 1915. His craft is distinguished by a masterful use of glass of rich textures and hues, as well as powerful draftsmanship. Many of the segments display streaky swaths of complex color that were produced by carefully mingling colored glass from different pots before it was rolled or blown into sheets.

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Photograph by Michel M. Raguin; text by Virginia Raguin. You may use this image 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.


Last modified 26 June 2016