The subjects that are depicted in the stained glass of Britain's churches usually embrace familiar themes. Christ and his family, the apostles, saints, stories from the Bible, the Holy Ghost, instruments of the passion, decorative designs based on architecture and nature, coats of arms, donor's details etc will all be familiar to most regular visitors. Sometimes, however, a subject surprises the viewer. I've seen the coronation of Queen Victoria, graphic WW1 scenes, tributes to local inventors, and much else. But, the window in the medieval church of St Mary, Monmouth, showing, George Edward Street, one of the premier Victorian architects, the man responsible for one of its restorations, is most unusual. All the more so because when Street was asked to report on the building prior to working on it he called it "extremely unattractive and uninteresting." The glass shows him holding the plan he came up with that would have swept away the Georgian work and replaced it with his own cruciform design.
photo © T. Boughen Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2
