Bingham
St Mary and All Saints

2Litany Window

The three three-light windows on the south side of the chancel all have 14th Century tracery. The glass in all of them is 19th Century. This may all date from the 1846 restoration under Robert Miles, but could be just a little earlier.

The design of this easternmost one is based around the words of the Litany (from the Book of Common Prayer). There are twelve scenes from around the life of Christ which actually read from left to right and depict:

However by contrast to the normal reading direction, at the top of each column of four are the words “By Thy” (in the middle one “By Thy Holy”) and at the bottom of each column “Good Lord Deliver us”, as though they were each to be read from top to bottom.

3South Chancel Middle Window

Again 19th Century glass.

There are small figures of saints in the side columns, and in the middle column three illustrated scripture verses. The lowest quarter of each light is a cross design each surrounded by a quotation, with three further scripture extracts along the bottom of each.

In the left light are: St Andrew with St Thomas, St James with St Philip, and St Stephen. In the right are: St Matthias, St Mark and St John. (St Andrew is presumed because he carries a saltire; the others are named.)

In the middle light are illustrated:

Ecce Homo
In Rama was a voice heard
Suffer ye little children

(from John 19.5 (Latin Vulgate), Matthew 2.18 (quoting Jeremiah 31.15) and Mark 10.14)

Around the cross designs in the lowest quarters of each column are:

For They rest from Their labors
For of such is ye Kingdom of Heaven
Ye Noble Army of Martyrs praise Thee

(The first of these is from Revelation 14.13 in the form it is used in the burial service from the Book of Common Prayer (except for the spelling of “labors”). The second is from Mark 10.14 and continues the quotation in the quarter immediately above it. The third quotation is from the Te Deum.)

And along the bottom of the three columns are:

Of whom the world was not worthy
They were lovely in their Lives
How long O LORD Holy and true

(These come from Hebrews 11.38, 2 Samuel 1.23 and Revelation 6.10. The second of them is also on Robert and Mary Miles’ own headstone in the churchyard, so was perhaps a favourite quotation.)

In the tracery above are three crowns. The one in the middle is a crown of thorns, the other two are more conventional crowns.

4Angel Window

This window is an unusual design, being entirely designed around figures of angels. There are twelve oval panels, each of which contains figures of one or more angels undertaking various appropriate tasks. Between these are more angels carrying banners. The topmost level of these banners proclaim (as angels do proclaim):

Holy, Holy, Holy
Peace on Earth
Alleluia, Alleluia

In the middle the banners proclaim

Angel Gabriel
Angel Michael
Angel Raphael

The third row of banners reads:

Are They not All Ministering Spirits for the Heirs of Salvation

Along the bottom of the window are the words:

He Maketh his Angels Spirits and his Ministers A Flame of Fire

These last two are scriptural quotations from Hebrews 1.14 (slightly abbreviated) and Hebrews 1.7 (itself quoting Psalm 104.4), both in their original context referring to angels.

In the tracery at the top are three six-winged seraphim, as described in Isaiah 6.2.

5Lily Window

This is another window with Victorian stained-glass, almost certainly from the Robert Miles era and thought to have been designed by Mary Miles in the early years of her marriage. The design is inspired by the words of Jesus in Matthew 6.28-34 - part of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus invites his hearers to “consider the lilies of the field”. The two main lights of the window are entirely made up of lilies entwined with further words of Jesus from this same section of scripture. The text reads:

In the tracery is a design made up of three doves and an IHS.

6Miles Memorial Window

This window is dedicated to the memory of Robert and Mary Miles. It was designed by their son Frank the artist (who also supervised the 1873 restorations and designed the lychgate). It is believed to have been made by Kempe.

The window depicts Jacob’s dream of angels ascending and descending on a ladder between heaven and earth (from Genesis 28.12). The face of Jacob is thought to be a portrait of Robert Miles himself as a young man, and the faces of the angels are also said to be modelled on members of the family. The Pre-raphaelite influence on the design is clear.

The inscription in the lower right-hand corner reads (the first part being from Revelation 14.13):

The trefoil head of the window depicts a crown of thorns, around which are the words (from Psalm 3.5):

Little light comes in through this window because of vegetation outside, but it is next to the grave of Robert and Mary Miles in the churchyard.

The full window	Figure of Moses
Figure of Aaron	Shadowy figure of Hope

7South Transept Main Window

This window perhaps contains the oldest glass in the church. Its ‘Y’ tracery, dating from around 1300, indicates that the window itself may be the oldest in the church too.

The window is mainly filled with plain glass, but there are a number of stained-glass inserts.

The stained glass in the upper parts of the window appears to be simply decorative.

The four shields are of the Earl of Chesterfield and of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, each repeated. (The Earls of Chesterfield were local landowners and patrons of the church for many years. The link with the bishopric of Bath and Wells is unclear. It is possible that Robert Miles may have come to Bingham from the Diocese of Bath and Wells. His family certainly came from that part of the country.)

Of particular interest are the figures in the lower section of the window. The middle two depict Moses and Aaron. These are probably 18th Century work, most likely of Flemish origin. They are certainly not English. (Unfortunately these were seriously damaged by vandals with catapults in around 1990, and some of the glass was lost. What could be recovered has been reassembled, but the breakages are still clear.)

At first sight the rectangles in the outer two roundels appear to be simple pieces of plain frosted glass, but on closer examination they can be seen to contain faint shadowy figures. The figures are clearly female, and right-hand one carrying an anchor must represent Hope. The left-hand one represents Faith, but it is hard to make out.

8Choir Vestry Window

The tracery in this window is significantly more elaborate than the plain ‘Y’ tracery in the nearby south transept window. It is more typical of the ‘decorated’ period, making the building of the choir vestry (of which this forms a part) somewhat later than the transept.

The glass in this window forms a stylised floral design in pale colours. It has a curiously domestic feel to it and may be fairly modern. A drawing of this part of the church dating from 1963 shows the window glazed with plain rectangular panels, so the current glass is presumably later than this.

Design in the tracery of the window

9Baptistry Window

This window and the two windows in the north aisle all have a similar form. Each is a two-light window with plain glass in the two main lights. There is a small design of stained glass in the tracery at the top of the window.

The glass in the window

Showing the depth of the recess

10Tower Window

This is a simple lancet window in the west wall of the room at the base of the tower. It is set right into the butress in the middle of the west of the tower, so from the inside it is extremely deeply recessed.

It is unclear why it was decided to build the window in this way. Maybe there already was a window in the wall here when it was felt necessary to add the butress to strengthen the tower. It must however have taken a lot of extra work and cannot have added to the strength of the butress. Perhaps there was an element of “We will do it like this to prove that we can.”

The glass is late Victorian, another memorial to Mary Miles (wife of the rector), and depicts a dove above an abstract design of vines.

Designs in the tracery of the two north aisle windows

11North Aisle Window (West)

This window and the next are like the baptistry window opposite. It is a two-light window in which the main lights are filled with rectangular panels of clear plain glass. In the tracery at the top is a small stained-glass design, and in this window it takes the form of a dove with an IHS below.

12North Aisle Window (East)

Another two light window with plain glass in the main lights and stained glass in the head tracery. There is a simple abstract trefoil design in this one, again with an IHS below.

North transept window

Detail of the stained glass in the tracery

13North Transept Main Window

This window, dating from 1848, was designed by Alfred Mowbray, who at the time was headmaster of Bingham Church School.

The window has four main lights which bear a light floral design. There is more intense stained glass in the elaborate tracery at the top of the window. Here is depicted the Virgin Mary with her child, which was painted by Mowbray himself, and two angels which proclaim:

In a small triangular light in the tracery is a pelican feeding its young with its own blood.

14North Transept East Window

This window is now partially blocked. It was originally a three-light window, but when the organ chamber and vestry was added to the church in 1863 the right-hand light fell where the wall of the new extension was to be, so it was blocked off.

The window is of ‘Perpendicular’ design, probably inserted by Sir Thomas de Rempstone in the 15th Century, making it later than the other medieval windows in the church. It is believed once to have contained stained glass with the Rempstone coat of arms, but the two existing lights are now simply filled with plain glass.