St James’ Church, Twycross

“Worth a pilgrimage of many miles,” says the church of its venerable stained glass window, England’s oldest glazed scenes entirely deserving of the accolade

‍Highlights

• Oldest stained-glass scenes in England

This unassuming church might have the oldest stained-glass scenes in England. No one can say for sure, but the ancient windows are in any case incomparable. The panels were made in France during the 12th and 13th centuries, and after 900 years, their colors are radiant and details still sharp.

The three oldest panels depict Biblical and early Christian scenes. A touching rendition of the Deposition from the Cross sits in the center of the window, sorrow emanating from the drooping figures and lifeless body of the Saviour.

Above the Deposition is the Presentation in the Temple, or Candlemas, when Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to the temple. The depiction accurately reflects early medieval iconography. St Simeon has his hands covered by a cloth before receiving Christ. As Mary hands the baby Jesus over, he is poised above the altar, foreshadowing his future sacrifice.

The Presentation panel was originally installed in the Basilica of St Denis in Paris and found its way to England during the French Revolution of 1789. It was donated to the church in the 1830s by King William IV, who often stayed nearby when visiting his friend Earl Howe.

The abbey church of St Denis was finished in 1144, so the glass presumably dates from then. Other panels in Twycross were taken from Sainte-Chapelle, another Parisian church, which was completed in 1248.

A guide in the church describes the windows in detail. There are more window pieces from Sainte-Chapelle on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (room 9, level 0, see page 73). St James’ Church itself is a 14th-century building.

In terms of other ancient English glass, Bede’s church at Jarrow has a tiny window containing Saxon-era stained glass fragments, recently excavated and arranged in an abstract pattern (page 411). Canterbury Cathedral probably has England’s oldest indigenous glass scene, a window of around 1176 showing Adam digging (page 39). But Twycross seems to have the oldest complete scenes.

St James’ Church, Main Road, Twycross CV9 3PL‍

www.sheepybenefice.org‍

W3W: just.funded.cleanser

GPS: 52.6408N 1.5009W‍

St James’ Church is on the south side of Twycross, by the A444 on your left as you head downhill out of the village. It is kept locked – but when I visited, a notice directed visitors to the local school office, which held a key.