Tree of Life with Pomegranates and Apples. Manufacturer: Morris & Co. Painted by one of Morris's assistants, Bowman, this is the east window of St David's Chapel in St Cybi's, Holyhead, Anglesey. The chapel was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott though not built until after his death, in 1897. It had been commissioned long ago by Elin Stanley, as a memorial to her husband the Hon. William Owen Stanley, but she had predeceased him; "their orphaned niece, Jane Adeane, brought up as their daughter, carried out her wishes" (Roberts 50). The chapel's interest lies not only in the Stanley memorial but also in its three Morris & Co. windows: this unusual one, installed in about 1897 when the chapel was built, has a pattern of foliage and symbolic fruit (the pomegranate, packed with seeds, was considered a symbol of the resurrection). The two others on the south wall, which show St Dorothy, St Theresa and St Agnes, and St Michael flanked by angels, also came from the Morris Co., but are more conventional. Seen in the photograph above are the wingtips of the angels on Stanley's memorial just below this east window.
Photograph taken by Dennis Eaton and kindly sent in by Dr J. K. Roberts. Text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. [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 UR or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Related Material
- St Cybi's Church, Holyhead, North Wales
- St Dorothy, St Theresa and St Agnes by Edward Burne-Jones at St Cybi's
- Angels by Edward Burne-Jones, and St Michael by J. H. Dearle, at St Cybi's
- Christ as Love, with the Virgin Mary and St John, to Burne-Jones's designs, at St Cybi's (another Morris & Co. window in the north transept)
Sources
"Church of St. Cybi, Holyhead, Anglesey." Stained Glass in Wales / Gwydr Lliw yng Nghymru. Web. 28 October 2015.
Roberts, Dr. J. K. The History of St Cybi's Church. Holyhead: Anglesey County Council, 2008.
Created 28 October 2015