2016-02

Stories in Glass
Three of the stained glass windows in St Chad’s Church
from a padre. In the foreground, receiving
the Holy Sacrament, is a young man with
a moustache. He is Lieutenant C. Gordon
Harbord who died during the Battle of the
Somme on September 1, 1916. His name
also appears in the confirmation register
of the church a few years before his early
death. Harbord Road in Woodseats
is named after him, St Chad’s Church
House was first owned by his parents and
the family still has strong connections with
Sheffield - his great nephew is the current
chaplain to the Bishop of Sheffield.
Shortly after this stained glass window
was commissioned and dedicated,
another window to the left was installed.
This shows two traditional Gospel scenes:
one of the haemorrhaging woman who
was healed when she touched Jesus’
cloak and the other of the annunciation
with the Angel Gabriel appearing to
Mary. Intriguingly Gabriel is shown with
striking African features in contrast to the
usual flowing blond locks and pale skin
that many angels are deemed to have.
Gabriel holds a lily, a sign of purity and
virginity. This window is very much in the
style of the Arts and Crafts Movement of
the late Nineteenth Century and this too
has attracted visitors to the church.
On the north wall of the church is a
window depicting four saints, dedicated
in 1945 to the memory of a worshipper,
John Wolstenholme. The four saints
(from left to right) are St John, St Peter,
St Paul and St Chad. If you look very
closely at St John you will see him holding
a chalice out of which pops a very small
black serpent. This alludes to the legend
that John was given a poisoned chalice to
drink but the poison had no effect on him.
A final, almost unseen piece of stained
glass in the church can be seen high on
the north wall of the chancel. This was
donated by Professor Violet Dimbleby, a
professor of glass at Sheffield University.
The small roundel, made by the professor
herself, shows a scene from the Old
Testament story of Eli and Samuel when
Samuel hears God calling him.
The church rebuilding works, scheduled
for later this year do not include any plans
to alter or add to the existing stained glass
windows - although we hope eventually
to decorate the east wall, which at
present only has a small round window,
with something colourful to draw the
worshippers’ attention. The windows will
remain, each telling their stories and each
revealing their secrets to those who look
closely enough.
Rev Toby Hole
St Chad’s Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats
Church Office: 9 Linden Avenue, Sheffield S8 0GA
Tel: (0114) 274 5086
Page 19
email: office@stchads.org
website: www.stchads.org