East Window, St Mary Magdalene, Geddington, by Sir Ninian Comper

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East Window

Sir Ninian Comper

St. Mary Magdalene, Geddington

Commissioned 1888, dedicated 17 December 1892

Stained glass

The date given above comes from the January 1893 parish magazine, and is confirmed by A. Symondson and S. Bucknell in their gazetteer of Comper's work (32) — indicating that Pevsner was mistaken in dating the window to 1903 (215). [Commentary continues below.]

Photograph and information kindly provided by John Bennett, MA (Churchwarden and Member of the Fabric and Finance Committees); text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

This was, in fact, Comper's very first completed stained glass commission. It was carried out while he was working in the London office of Bucknall & Comper, and, according to the leaflet available in the church, illustrates "the power of Divine Love shown in overcoming evil." Mary Magdalene, to whom the church is dedicated, is shown in the central left light, next to Mary, who stands slightly above her in the middle, holding the infant Jesus. On the right side is John the Baptist with the Lamb of God. The outer two figures here are St Peter, and an armour-clad St George killing the dragon. Below these figures are Adam and Eve in the middle, flanked by symbols of the four Evangelists. Above the main figures are the prophets Isaiah, Zacharia, Micah and Jeremiah, bearing appropriate texts. All in all, it is a comprehensive, well-considered representation of the Biblical story, in Comper's early style.

Related Material

Bibliography

"Geddington's Stained Glass." St Mary Magdalene, 2019. Leaflet available from the church (kindly provided by John Bennett).

Pevsner, Nikolaus. Northamptonshire (The Buildings of England series). London: Penguin, 1961.

Symondson, A. and Bucknell, S. Sir Ninian Comper: An Introduction to His Life and Work, with Complete Gazetteer, London: Spire Books, 2006.

Created 15 March 2020