Church of St Martin-le-Grand, Coney Street, York
Address
Church of St Martin-le-Grand, Coney Street, York YO1 9QLRecommended by
Highlight
St Martin window, north wallArtist, maker and date
Medieval glaziers, c.1437 – re-set by George PaceReason for highlighting
This glorious window only survives because it was removed as a precaution against war damage in 1940. When it returned it was set in the north wall rather than its original location in the west wall, as part of a wholesale reconstruction of the church by George Pace in the 1960s.
Its size now seems to dwarf the remains of the building which is just a proportion of its original size prior to bomb damage. But, although heavily restored, the window’s present location enables close inspection.
The glass is a fantastic example of fifteenth century work – with scenes set against strong red and blue backgrounds and framed by silvery architectural canopies. The accomplished painting style, quality of glass materials, and delicate silver stain work is typical of fifteenth century painting on glass, as so copiously practised in the city of York both then and now.
Artist/maker notes
George Gaze Pace (1915-75) was an architect, who worked mainly on ecclesiastical projects, being appointed as surveyor to a number of cathedrals. This work principally involved the repair and refitting of churches, but he also worked on a series of new buildings.
Other comments
The church also contains two panels of reset medieval stained glass in two windows on the south side at the west end of the church (sVII and sVIII), which were originally part of the medieval glazing of Wakefield Cathedral.
From the time of George Pace’s restoration is the 1963 east window by Harry Stammers. This is a fine example of his work, and depicts York in flames on the night of the “Baedeker raid” in 1942.
George Pace also worked on a number of occasions with Frank Roper, a prolific sculptor and stained glass artist, and an example of his work, a gilt aluminium reredos of the Last Supper (1967), is beneath the Stammers window.