South nave window (c.1100-1135), All Saints Church, Dalbury, Derbyshire.
Photo: Peter Hildebrand
Church of All Saints, Dalbury, Derbyshire
Address
Church of All Saints, Dalbury, Ashbourne, Derbyshire DE6 5BRRecommended by
Clare Hartwell (10)
Highlight
Window on the south side of the naveArtist, maker and date
Medieval workshop, c.1100-1135. Restored by York Glaziers Trust, 1980Reason for highlighting
This exceptional window has the power to link us with the distant past. If indigenous, it is one of a tiny handful of figurative windows from the early 12th century to survive in this country. An angel, perhaps St Michael, stands solemnly with his red and white wings folded above and hands held out in the orans or praying position. He wears an orange cloak and a patterned white tunic. His long oval face and boldly delineated features are compelling, the more so because the window is set almost at head height so viewers can meet his eyes. It is a powerful and moving image.
Other comments
Dalbury church stands in the fields with little more than the former rectory for company. A small, unassuming building, it is largely of 13th century date, with a north aisle of 1844 and various other alterations. It is mentioned in Domesday but there is no obvious structural work from that time.
The window has been reset within a lancet, so it may have been saved and reused when the earlier church was rebuilt. Alternatively, it could have been introduced by the Rev. Charles Cotton (incumbent 1831-57), who was an enthusiastic antiquary and was almost certainly responsible for importing various items of carved work into the church.
Sources:
Vidimus issue 70 2013
Stained Glass in England during the Middle Ages by Richard Marks (Routledge, 1993)