Ernest Hemingway

These stained glass windows were created by Tom Deny in 2007. The windows were inspired by Thomas Traherne and his writings.

Thomas Traherne was a priest, poet and spiritual writer. Born in Hereford in 1637, he almost certainly attended Hereford Cathedral School; this was at a time when the city was torn by civil war. After completing his studies at Brasenose College, Oxford, he returned to Herefordshire in 1657, as rector of Credenhill, a small village five miles west of the city. Here he ministered for sixteen years, as well as participating in the work of this cathedral.

Early in 1674, Traherne left Herefordshire for Teddington, where he continued to serve as chaplain to Sir Orlando Bridgeman. He died later that year and lies buried under the reading desk in Teddington Church.

Trahere’s search for happiness led him to see God’s love revealed in creation. He speaks of this vision in his writings, largely unpublished at his time of death. It is thanks to the twentieth century rediscovery of his manuscripts that he is now celebrated as a spiritual writer of great depth and beauty.

The Traherne windows represent themes in Traherne’s thinking:

Love for the Herefordshire countryside

Seeing the cross of Christ in the world around us

Insistence on the importance of love in human lives

Love for the city of Hereford and its inhabitants*

*from a signboard next to the windows

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

This is the place where prayers were offered for the soul of John Stanbury, Bishop of Hereford 1453 – 74.

The Percy Chantry was built in the 15th-century and is the only part of the priory church to survive complete, although what we see today is the product of renovations. The Chantry has an intricate ceiling composed of intersecting ribs with 33 carved bosses.

Info from the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas guide book:

In World War II, after the fall of Denmark and Norway in 1940, Newcastle became the home of the Danish merchant fleet. About 4,000 Danish seamen sailed from here and 1,406 gave their lives. the memorial in natural slate and stainless steel, designed in 1982 by Ronald G. Sims, the cathedral architect, is imaginative and arresting. The Westmorland slate represents the Danish islands and the remembrance book came originally from the Danish Seamen’s Church in Newcastle via the Danish Seamen’s Church in London. In October 2002 the memorial was augmented by the fine window above. Its simple but powerful images include the coats of arms of Newcastle and three Danish ports; crosses for ‘faith’ anchors for ‘hope’, and the heart for ‘charity’, all set in clear but textured glass. The designer was Mike Davis of Durham and the glass is Northumbrian with two clear roundels of Danish glass in the shaped beads of the outer lights.

The plaque underneath the memorial window, seen to the right of the second photo reads:

Dedicated on 26th October 2003 in the presence of Tom Risdahl, his excellency the Danish Ambassador.  The window displays the virtues of faith, hope and charity.  And the arms of some of the ports of the Danish Seamen; Arhus, Marstal and Copenhagen together with those of Newcastle Upon Tyne.