Hucknall
St Mary Magdalene

Glass

Click the numbers in the key plan for details of the items.

Key to Glass
Kempe's trademark

The church has one of the most important sets of stained glass windows by Charles Kempe in the country. They are important because they date from Kempe's middle period (1883-1895) and demonstrate the studio's full range of subjects and variety of styles.

Most of the windows were commissioned and donated by Canon John Godber who, although never vicar of Hucknall, had been brought up in the town and had a life-long affection for the church. Godber and Kempe had been contemporaries at Pembroke College, Oxford.

Chancel

1.The east window dates from 1883 and shows scenes associated with the Crucifixion and Resurrection.

It is commonly thought that one of the figures resembles Lord Byron.

2.The window at the east end of the south wall dates from 1888 and depicts St Mary Magdalene, The Virgin Mary with the Infant Jesus and St Elizabeth with the Infant St. John. The inscription reads:

For the adornment of this
church & in memory of Elizabeth
wife of John Godber this
window is erected A.D. 1888.

3.

Window 3 Detail of
Window 3
showing
St Paul

The window in the south wall portrays St Paul and St Stephen and is dedicated to the memory of W and A Needham Ball. It dates from 1888.

South Transept

4.The window depicts, from left to right, St Peter, St John the Evangelist and St James the Pilgrim. It is not by Kempe. The inscription reads:

To the Glory of God & to the memory of George & Rachel Stevenson of this Parish
This window is dedicated by their daughter wife of Henry Rhodes A.D. 1888.

5.

Detail showing
Jesus and
Satan
The main subject of the window is the Angels Ministering to Christ after his Temptation in the Wilderness.

6.The subject of the south-east window is the Descent into Hades and portrays characters from both Old and New Testaments.

7.The 'Atonement' window shows scenes from the Passion of Jesus: the mocking, the scourging, Pilate washing his hands, the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Crucifixion.

8.

Detail

The window portrays a scene from the Old Testament: Moses and the Brazen Serpent.

9.

Detail

The window depicts another Old Testament scene: Abraham preparing to offer his son Isaac in sacrifice.

South Aisle

10.The subject of the easternmost window in the wall of the south aisle is The Charge to Peter. The inscription reads:

To the glory of God and in grateful recognition of the
generosity of the Rev J.H. Godber, especially in connection
with the enlargement of this Church, A.D. 1888, the Parishioners
of Hucknall Torkard gave dedicated this window, A.D. 1890.

11.The westernmost window depicts the miracle of the healing of the lame man at the gate of the temple. The inscription reads:

In the reverence of God, and in
memory of James Widdowson
for thirty years Church Warden
of this parish, Charlotte his
widow dedicates this window.

Visitor Centre

The Visitor Centre was formerly the baptistry. The plain window in the south-west corner includes a roundel containing fragments of medieval stained glass.

12.The west window in the Visitor Centre shows Christ summoning the little children, accompanied by a choir and orchestra of angels. It dates from 1891.

Tower

13.The west window replaced the west door in the late 19th century and shows the Presentation of the Infant Jesus in the Temple.

North Aisle

14, 15.

Window 14 Window 15
The two windows were designed as a pair and depict angels.

North Transept

16.The window is an allegorical interpretation of the three great Christian virtues, Faith, Charity and Hope. The inscription reads:

In grateful recollection of the life
long devotion of Eliza, Sarah, and
Anne Godber, John their nephew
dedicates this window. A.D. 1892.

17.In the window in the north-west corner of the transept John the Baptist is seen preaching to a crowd of people.

18.The 'Mystery of the Incarnation' window depicts various scenes from the birth of Jesus.

19.The window in the north-east corner shows Our Lord Among the Doctors. These fragments are all that remain of the window after a fire in 1973. The stained glass in the adjoining window, depicting the Old Testament figures of Rachael, David and Jeremiah, was destroyed.

Lady Chapel

The windows in the Lady Chapel were produced by Alexander Gascoyne of Nottingham who had trained with Kempe.

20.
Detail showing
Pelican feeding
its young

The window was given in 1920 by the Hucknall Company of the Boys Brigade in memory of their fallen comrades and shows Agnus Dei, symbol of the Risen Jesus, and the Pelican feeding its young, a symbol of Jesus feeding his people in the Eucharist.

21.The window commemorates the safe return of G. R. Bostock and H. L. Stevens from World War I. It was donated by their parents in 1920.

22.The east window incorporates symbols of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Chancel arch and Clerestorey windows

The chancel arch has an angelus window, composed of six roundels filled with angel heads.

The six clerestorey windows also portrayed angels but were removed in 1966 and the glass re-installed in churches in Ibstock (Leicestershire), Selston and Bestwood.