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Description of the stained glass window at Trinity Hale by David Stratton
The window is in three panels, the centre panel a little taller than the others. Each has a semicircular top to match the shape of the recess in which the whole window is set.

At the tops of the panels are figures of Faith (on the left), Hope (on the right) and Charity (centre). The effect is that Charity is raised a little above the other two, in accordance with 1 Corinthians 13 xiii : "The greatest of these is Charity."
Faith, seated, gazes outwards towards the viewer holding her staff: "My faith, it is an oaken staff."
Hope gazes upwards towards Charity as she sits holding her anchor: "Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?"
Charity is intent upon the child she is holding.
They are supported by a tree-like motif, recalling that these things are the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5 xxii-xxiii), and that Christ is the True Vine (Jn 15 i).

In centre place, below Charity in the centre panel, is the figure of Jesus. Below Him is the text, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me" (Mt 19 xiv), and He is shown receiving four children, one of whom He holds in His arms. The features of at least one of them suggest that this may be a portrait of a real child.

Flanking Jesus in the side panels we see two of the Evangelists, to our left of Jesus St John, and to our right St Matthew. Each holds a book open to display a text from his gospel, which he indicates with a finger.
St John has, "In Him was life, and the life is the light of men" (John 1, iv).
St Matthew has, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5, viii).
The curious lettering, with some words written very small, makes these texts hard to read.

At the bottom of the window, beneath each evangelist is the winged creature which is his traditional symbol, shown in a roundel: an eagle for St John; and a man for St Matthew.
In the centre is an abstract design, with below it the dedication reading:
"In affectionate memory of Sarah Anne Arnold the wife of William A Arnold died 16 July 1913."
(Mr and Mrs Arnold were among the earliest members of the original Ashley Road Congregational Church).

Christ's red garment and golden nimbus are typical of Byzantine art. The background is a naturalistic one of trees and hills, perhaps more suggestive of England than the Holy Land. The two Evangelists wear stylised priestly vestments. The background continues the theme of trees and hills, so that the scene reads across all three panels as being set in a single symbolic landscape.

There is evidence of a repair at the bottom of the window, in the middle of the last line of the dedication.

At the other end of the building a roundel containing the Star of David is to be seen in several windows. This was a common motif at the time, meant to symbolise the fact that we approach the Christian Gospel through the Old Testament.

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SITE MAP for Altrincham United Reformed Church HISTORY PAGES
CLICK THE TITLES BELOW TO CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THIS ARCHIVE.
Historical Archives
Typical work for Charity and the Community:
Christie Hospital .....Tikwere, Malawi
ACT4AFRICA
Members Contributions to Exhibitions and Presentations.

WWII- Christmas 1940 - the blitz on Altrincham.
Extract of a talk given to Stamford Park Junior School