Ringmore Church 3

It is unusual for such a small remote rural church to have stained glass in all of its windows but such is the case here.

This post ended up being a comprehensive collection of all of the windows in Ringmore, All Hallows church in the South Hams of Devon, apart from the World War 1 Memorial window which stands alone in more detail in Part Two.

The church features in Part One.

In 1860 a major rescue of the dilapidated church took place by its new rector, Francis Charles Hingeston-Randolph, who had a personal interest in Celtic Saints. The name of the church itself, All Hallows, means All Saints, so it is wholly appropriate that so many saints feature in the windows.

All Hallows is the 1st of November, while All Hallows Eve or Halloween as it is better known today is the 31st of October. All Hallows Day commemorates all of the Saints, while the following day, All Souls Day commemorates the departed.

The south east window in the chancel to the right of the altar features three Celtic saints, so it seems a good place to start. Enelient, Nectan of Hartland and Morwenna.

Saint Nectan in the centre was a 5th century Devon Saint. This is so early that England did not even exist yet. The Romans had just left and Devon and Cornwall were ruled by the native Dumnonii tribe. This was also the beginning of Anglo-Saxon settlement. The Romans had not extended much beyond the river Exe, being mainly interested in the tin of Dartmoor, the mining of which predates their arrival.

The 5th century saw the beginnings of a significant Christian arrival, influenced by eastern traditions and missionaries like Saint Nectan. A 12th century account relates that Nectan was born in Ireland and moved to Wales in the year 423. He was the oldest of the 24 children of King Brychan of Brycheiniog.

Emulating his hero St. Anthony, a hermit who lived in Egypt, Nectan set sail with his followers. He didn't get very far, merely crossing the Bristol Channel, to settle near Hartland in North Devon. There he lived in a forest in solitude. Now we get into saintly legend.

His legend has it that some of his cattle were stolen by robbers. After this he attempted to convert the robbers to Christianity but they cut off his head, whereupon he picked up his own head and walked back to his well before dying. One of the other thieves seeing this buried him there and from that time miracles repeatedly took place at his tomb. Wherever his blood was spilled, foxgloves grew.

In the left hand panel is St Endelient, reputed to be the sister of Nectan. Several of Nectan's siblings also became missionaries in Devon and Cornwall. The town of St Endellion in Cornwall is named after her. She is thought to have died on 29 April some time in the 6th century, and possibly at the hands of Saxon pirates. She was buried at the top of a hill, and a church built over her grave. The present church at St Endellion stands on that site.

In the right hand panel is St Morwenna, another sister of Nectan. Morwenna made her home in a little hermitage at Hennacliff , afterwards called Morwenstow. It stands near the top of a high cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, where the sea is almost constantly stormy, and from where, in certain atmospheric conditions, the coast of Wales can be seen. She built a church there, for the local people, with her own hands. It is said that she carried the stone on her head from beneath the cliff, and where she once stopped for a rest, a spring gushed forth to the west of the church. Wikipedia

Holy springs and wells feature in much saintly legend, almost certainly predating Christianity with the same veneration of water being a feature of pagan religion including the beliefs of the Romans

Saint Endelient

The east window above the altar features the triumvirate of Mary, Christ and John the Divine.

St John the Divine, not to be confused with John the Baptist, also called John the Apostle, St John the Beloved and St John the Theologian was one of the 12 apostles.

John the Apostle was born into a family of Jewish fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. He was the son of Zebedee and the younger brother of James the Great. Tradition has it that John was plunged into boiling oil at the colosseum in Rome at a time when either Nero or Diocletian were persecuting Christians. On witnessing the fact that the boiling oil did not harm him, the crowds at the colosseum were said to have been converted to Christianity, while John was banished to the island of Patmos, the only apostle to live his life out and die in natural circumstances.

Opposite the organ is one of the most beautiful windows in the church, along with the Memorial window. It features the Nativity window on the left and the Requisitioning of the Donkey for the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, on the right. The top light is Christ at Gethsemane. These three windows together encompass the birth life and death of Jesus. I have taken some close ups to show the fine detail of the art of stained glass involved.

I don't have definite dates for most of the windows but this one is clearly dated. It is dedicated to Helen Mary Seeker who died on August 8th 1900.

The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane is an episode in the life of Jesus, which occurred after the Last Supper and before his betrayal and arrest, all part of the Passion of Jesus leading to his crucifixion and death. Wikipedia

And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village before you, and right away you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you will say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”

According to the gospels, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, entering the city riding a donkey. He was greeted by a crowd acclaiming him by waving palm branches and laying cloaks on the ground to honour him. The donkey symbolised his humility and peace as opposed to warriors who rode horses.

This glamourous, bejewelled Nativity scene is instantly recognisable despite its lack of accuracy in its depiction of a humble stable. The Virgin Mary is portrayed in the blue cloak now ubiquitous in art.

This tradition originates from the Byzantine Empire, where blue was the colour of royalty, and became more established after the 431 AD Council of Ephesus, which declared Mary the "Queen of Heaven". Additionally, blue symbolized devotion, and the most expensive blue pigment, derived from lapis lazuli, was reserved for her as a sign of veneration.

The north transept window shows St Piran, generally regarded as the Patron Saint of Cornwall. Piran is another 5th century saint, possibly of Irish origin. He was a Cornish Abbot and became the Patron Saint of Tin Miners. He was expelled from Ireland because of his powerful preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Having been thrown into the sea tied to a mill stone, he miraculously arrived on the shores of Cornwall where he built his tiny oratory and continued his work of evangelism, founding communities. St Piran's flag of a white cross on a black background is still the flag of Cornwall to this day. His life and origins though, are still contested by theologians.

The round west window, Christ in glory with orb and sceptre. The globus cruciger also known as the orb and cross", is an orb surmounted by a cross. It has been a Christian symbol of authority since the Middle Ages, used on coins, in iconography, and with a sceptre as royal regalia. The cross laid over the globus represents Christ's dominion over the world, literally held in the hand of a worthy earthly ruler.

The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, © Christopher Furlong

The south west window shows St Augustine of Canterbury, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, and St Alban the first recorded British Christian Martyr.

St Augustine was the prior of a monastery in Rome when Pope Gregory the Great chose him in 595 to lead a mission, usually known as the Gregorian mission, to Britain to Christianize King Æthelberht and his Kingdom of Kent from Anglo-Saxon paganism. Kent was likely chosen because Æthelberht commanded major influence over neighbouring Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in addition to his marriage to Bertha, a Frankish princess, who was expected to exert some influence over her husband. Before reaching Kent, the missionaries had considered turning back, but Gregory urged them on, and in 597, Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet and proceeded to Æthelberht's main town of Canterbury. Wikipedia

Sparse records testify that St Alban was a Roman citizen living in Verulamium around AD 300. Nothing certain is known of his background or age. One of the best known accounts is that of Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, written in 731.

In either the 3rd or 4th century, as the actual date is disputed, Christians were being persecuted. The account of the death of Alban mentions the witness crossing the Thames, placing his martyrdom in or near Londinium as it was then called.

The legend states that Alban met a priest and sheltered him from persecution in his home. The priest prayed day and night and impressed Alban so much that he converted to Christianity. When Roman soldiers arrived to search Alban's home, Alban put on the priest's cloak and presented himself to the soldiers in place of his guest.

It's a bit of a gory tale from here on in, as many saintly legends are. The Prince who had sent the soldiers was a pagan and when Alban was presented to him, he became enraged that Alban had done this to protect the priest. Alban was sentenced to the same fate as the priest unless he recanted his faith, which he refused. He was scourged and still did not recant.

As Alban was led to the place of execution the soldiers came to a bridge, blocked by sightseers who wished to witness the execution. By now Alban, wanting to just get it over with raised up his eyes and the river dried up so that they could cross. The astonished executioner laid down his sword and fell at his feet offering to die instead.

The other executioners also refused to pick up the sword while the party proceeded to a hill covered in wild flowers. When Alban reached the summit Alban became thirsty, whereupon a spring opened up at his feet. Here it was that he and his reluctant executioner had their heads chopped off. The eyes of the actual executioner immediately fell from his head so that he could not rejoice over Alban's death.

They don't write them like that anymore.

In the ancient miniature side chapel the blue cloak tells us again that this is the Virgin Mary while the baby holds the orb topped by a cross, so this is the baby Jesus, more commonly described as the Madonna and Child in art. The term Madonna in the sense of "picture or statue of the Virgin Mary" enters English usage in the 17th century, primarily in reference to works of the Italian Renaissance.

Full-length standing images of the Madonna more frequently include the infant Jesus, who turns towards the viewer or raises his hand in benediction.

The pulpit window shows St David and St Senen. These two saints often appear together in connection with the story of St David.

St David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a large amount of detail about his life. His birth date, however, is uncertain: suggestions range from 462 to 512. He is traditionally believed to be the son of Non and the grandson of Ceredig ap Cunedda, king of Ceredigion. He became renowned as a teacher and preacher, founding monastic settlements and churches in Wales, Dumnonia (Devon), and Brittany. St David's Cathedral stands on the site of the monastery he founded in the Glyn Rhosyn valley of Pembrokeshire.

The window in Ringmore depicts a dove landing on the Saint's shoulder. This relates to his best known miracle. While speaking to a large crowd at the Synod of Brefi, the ground on which he stood rose up to form a small hill, whereupon a white dove flew down and settled on his shoulder. This became his emblem. Today the village of Llanddewi Brefi stands on this spot. Since the Synod of Brefi in around 545 the village has been known as Llanddewi Brefi, meaning "the Llan (an ancient holy place) of Saint David at Brefi.

Not much is known about St. Sennen. A St. Senan was born near Kilrush in Ireland in 488. He founded many churches there, and is supposed to have founded the church at Sennen Cove in Cornwall in 520. Ireland became Christian long before other parts of the British Isles and Irish missionaries soon spread the faith into the Western Isles, Wales and Cornwall.

In the vestry is St Ia of St Ives, who was an evangelist and martyr of the 5th or 6th centuries, flourishing in the area of St Ives, Cornwall. She is said to have been an Irish princess, the sister of Erc of Slane. Tradition has her travelling from Ireland, the place of her birth, across the sea to Cornwall, supported by a large floating leaf.

Ia went to the seashore to depart for Cornwall from her native Ireland along with other saints. Finding that they had gone without her, fearing that she was too young for such a hazardous journey, she was grief-stricken and began to pray. As she prayed, she noticed a small leaf floating on the water and touched it with a rod to see if it would sink. As she watched, it grew bigger and bigger. Trusting God, she embarked upon the leaf and was carried across the Irish Sea. She reached Cornwall before the others, where she joined Gwinear and Felec of Cornwall. Wikipedia

Sometimes life plays tricks on you and we call them coincidences. So I found that I took the photo of this window in January 2024 and from that day to now had never heard of St Ia. I had edited these photos recently and assembled them together for this post. Then two weeks ago by chance I found myself in St Ives. As I always do, if I see what appears to be an ancient church, I went into the church there and took this photo.

Before I wrote up this post on Ringmore, that you are reading now, I published another post of assorted photos taken last October, including this church interior in St Ives. When I researched that post I found that this was the church of St Ia.

Now researching this post, I have discovered that this window I photographed nearly 2 years ago, which I only recently edited at the same time as my visit to St Ives is the same Saint Ia who is chiefly associated with that same ancient church in St Ives. She holds in her hands the church she founded, which is shown above.

This unusual window which stands apart from the others in time and design is a memorial to Ardene Bennett who died in 2008. Ardene was a scientist, and founder member of the Ringmore Historical Society and Parish Councillor. She spent 24 years researching the local history of the parish.

This final image is the only window with no main subject. It is beautiful none the less, in its simplicity.