O Ye Mountains & Hills Bless Ye the Lord by George Heywood Sumner (1853-1940). One of a series commissioned by the Reverend William John Coussmaker in 1888 as a memorial to his wife. St Mary the Virgin, Llanfair Kilgeddin, Monmouthshire. Photograph and text by Michael Statham. [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. Click on the image to enlarge it.]
The entire interior of this church is decorated with Sumner’s sgraffito panels. The theme is the Benedicite, the hymn of praise to God for his creation. Although this theme is from the Christian faith several of the scenes would be readily understood and appreciated by humanists. This is the first of the four main panels in the nave: it depicts a landscape view near the church itself with the river Usk and meadows in the foreground. Beyond the meadows a line of trees of various types give way to a patchwork of cultivated fields. Llanfihanel Gobion church peeps through between the trees and fields. Beyond the fields are hills with the Sugarloaf Mountain near Abergavenny in the far distance. Above the land the skyscape includes blue sky, clouds, and rainfall to depict changes in the weather and a rainbow adds joy to the whole inspirational composition.
Link to related material
- Three Benedicite Windows, St Peter's Church, Staines, by Edward Arthur Fellowes Prynne (a different treatment of the theme in a different medium)
Bibliography
Knight, Malcolm Peter. The Sgraffito of Heywood Sumner (1853–1940). MSc Thesis University of Liverpool. 30 April 2021. Two Volumes. Available online at the University of Liverpool Repository.
Created 11 December 2022