Brechin Cathedral, Angus

Address

Brechin Cathedral, 6 Church Street, Brechin, Angus DD9 6EU

Theme

The Abbeys and Cathedrals of the Church of Scotland (9)

Comments by

Iain Galbraith and Peter Hildebrand

Overview

The present character of the cathedral owes much to the restoration work of James Honeyman at the beginning of the last century, and the first appearance of the current stained glass collection dates from that time.

The majority of the windows are by two artists, Henry Holiday (as mentioned below) and William Wilson, who supplied 16 windows between 1952 and 1958. Also notable are two windows by Hugh Easton of 1952, which have almost Hollywood style figures in vivid colours.

Highlight

Complete chancel scheme

Artist, maker and date

Henry Holiday, 1907

Reason for highlighting

This extensive and varied scheme of 14 windows is for many the cathedrals greatest joy. The windows depict scenes from the Life of Christ, of which the Arrival of the Magi (in the Nativity window) and the Betrayal by Judas (in the Gethsemane window) are worthy of special note.

Artist/maker notes

Henry Holiday (1839-1927) one of England foremost stained glass artists, was also an illustrator, painter and sculptor. After many successful years working for James Powell & Sons, in 1891 he left to set up his own independent studio, which gave him the freedom to fully control the production of his designs.

Source: Damozels & Deities: Edward Burne-Jones, Henry Holiday & Pre-Raphaelite Stained Glass 1870-1898 by William Waters and Alastair Carew-Cox, (Seraphim Press, 2017)

Highlighted dates at this location

1907 (Go to date search)