Christ in Majesty, or The Martyrs' Window. This very beautiful window in the north transept of Holy Trinity Church, LLandudno dates to 1891. It is markedly similar in composition to several windows by John Hardman, which show figures clustered below a central medallion or oval; but it has not previously been attributed to the firm, even though they supplied the apse windows here. It has been described as "dramatically coloured and crowded" (Haslam et al. 410), and indeed it is. But the figure of Christ still stands out perfectly as the focus.
The lower part of the window is the most "crowded," well representing the hosts of those who look up in worship. The scrolling text along the bottom reads, "These are they which came out of the great tribulation," and here can be seen St. Catherine in the left-hand corner with her spiked wheel, with St James the Great with his pilgrim's staff and water-vessel, and St Paul with the instrument of his martyrdom, the sword. St Peter kneels before Jesus, with his keys at his waist, and beside him is St John the Evangelist with the poisoned chalice. Jesus holds a book with the revelation of his role as Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Foremost of those on the other side, is a kneeling St. John the Baptist, behind whom stands St. Stephen with the stones by which he was martyred.
As well as helpfully identifying nearly all the "martyrs," the church website tells us that the window is inscribed: "In loving memory of John Morgan, Rector of this parish from 1857 — 1885, by his daughters Ann C. Morgan and Helen Alison Johnson 1891." That suggests that the window was installed soon after the Hardman firm's apse ones.
Photographs by kind permission of the Rector and Churchwardens. Top photograph by Colin Price; remaining two, text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use these images 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 images to enlarge them.
Material related to Holy Trinity and its stained glass
- Holy Trinity, Llandudno, N. Wales
- The Nativity by Hardman & Co.
- The Coming of the Magi by Hardman & Co.
- Baptistry window by A. L. Moore
- West Window by A. L. Moore
- Geometric and floral window
Sources
"Church of the Holy Trinity...." British Listed Buildings. Web. 9 November 2015.
Haslam, Richard, Julian Orbach and Adam Voelcker. Gwynedd. The Buildings of Wales series. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009.
"History of Holy Trinity" Plwyf Llandudno Parish (Parish of Llandudno). Web. 9 November 2015.
"Stained Glass Windows." Plwyf Llandudno Parish (The Parish of LLandudno) (new addition to the Church's own website). Web. 28 July 2016.
Last modified 23 July 2016