St Georges Church, Jesmond, Newcastle

The Stained Glass


St George's Church's stained glass was made by Gateshead Stained Glass Co, except for the two West aisle windows, by O'Neil Brothers.


Baptistry window showing St PaulBaptistry window showing St Barnabas

Two beautifully painted windows flank the baptistry at the West End, representing St Paul (South, left) and St Barnabas (North, right). These windows are a good example of the genius of T R Spence:at first glance they appear to be fine examples of gothic design, but on closer inspection one sees the gentle introduction of art nouveau at the base of each window, and at the top the designs first seen on the entrance gates are repeated in a different form. Other examples of this unity of design can be found in other parts of the building, notably the east window, the lectern and the south windows.

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The west window of the Last Judgement is by J W Brown of London.



West window showing the Last Judgement above statue of St  GeorgeDetail of statue of St George and Dragon

Statue of St. George and vanquished Dragon underneath west window



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Following ancient tradition the windows of the north aisle contain largely plain glass, but Spence was not content without some decoration. Each window has a border of coloured glass and in a prominent position is set a panel containing a different symbol in each window. Moving from the west end towards the chancel they are; the shield of St George, the keys of St Peter, a scroll with a fish, the HIS monogram, a ship, three fish, the fruit and the serpent, the martyr's crown and an olive branch.

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East window and high altar




The East Window illustrates the Birth of Our Lord, with the visitation of the Shepherds and Wise Men. Like the west window this is the work of JW Brown, but we have to assume that the original plans were changed, for the glass above and below the picture panel is quite clearly the work of Spence and contains the flower heads found in other windows and in the wrought iron entrance gates.

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The central figures in the south windows take themes from the Book of Revelation.

Below these figures can be seen a curious collection of symbols that bemuse most visitors, these are taken from a Clog Calendar. In medieval times the unlearned were helped to follow the passing of the year by means of sticks or four sided logs marked with symbols to denote the feast days of the Church. Where Spence discovered his information is not known, nor do we know why he though it appropriate to place a clog calendar in a suburban church, we can only assume that this was yet another pattern with which he could enrich his great work. Each individual pane is about 5" square.

Beginning by the vestry door the windows have the following symbols:

First Window:

Clog Calendar - New Year and Epiphany

January 1st - New Year : January 6th - The Epiphany

St Hilary and St Paul

January 13th - St Hilary : January 25th - St Paul

Purification and St Blasius

February 2nd - Feast of the Purification : February 3rd - St Blasius

Second Window:

St Valentine and St Matthias

February 14th - St Valentine : 24th - St Matthias

St David and St Chad

March 1st - St David : March 2nd - St Chad

St Gregory and Annunciation

March 12th - St Gregory : March 25th - The Annunciation


Third Window:

St Richard and St George

April 3rd - St Richard : April 23rd - St George

St Mark and St Phillip & St James

April 25th - St Mark : May1st - St Philip and St James

Invention of the Cross and St Dunstan

May 3rd - Invention of the Cross: May 19th - St Dunstan

Fourth Window:

St Barnabas and St John  the Baptist

June 11th - St Barnabas : June 24th - St John the Baptist

St Peter and the Visitation of the Virgin Mary

June 29th - St Peter : July 2nd - Visitation of the Virgin Mary

St Swithun and St Margaret

July 15th - St Swithun : July 20th - St Margaret

Fifth Window:

St Mary Magdalen and St James

July 22nd - St Mary Magdalen : July 25th - St James

Lammas Day and The Transfiguration

August 1st - Lammas Day : August 6th - The Transfiguration

St Laurence the Deacon and St Bartholemew

August 10th - St Laurence the Deacon : August 24th - St Bartholomew


Sixth Window:

St Giles and St Edith

September 1st - St Giles : September 16th - St Edith

St Matthew and St Michael

September 21st - St Matthew : September 29th - St Michael

St Edward the Confessor and St Luke

October 13th - St Edward the Confessor : October 18th - St Luke

Seventh Window:

St Simon & St Jude and St  Leonard

October 28th - St Simon and St Jude : November 6th- St Leonard

St Martin and St Edmund

November 11th - St Martin : November 20th - St Edmund

St Clement and St Catherine

November 23rd - St Clement : November 25th St Catherine

Unfortunately there is no window to commemorate the feasts of December. Some of the symbols used in the Clog Calendar are easy to interpret, for example the keys of St Peter or the harp of St David, but many are less easy to discern.

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