Mansfield St Augustine

Glass

Currently St. Augustine’s has only one stained glass window which is set over the altar at the east end of the church. It is large with an arched head, and three sections of glass formed by two vertical metal bars each linked horizontally by two bars of the same dimensions and material. The outer sections are filled with rectangular leaded slightly translucent glass with light green, pale yellow and shades of blue glass filling the background. The centre panel section depicts Jesus with halo and has been attributed to His Ascension. The heads of two males are gazing up at Him. The present vicar suggests that it might in fact be the Easter Sunday resurrection with the faces being Roman soldiers (one is wearing a Roman helmet).

In the bottom corners is a memorial dedication to the father of the donor:

IN MEMORY OF
1917 RONALD 1990
HARTSHORN

SOMETIME
CHURCH
WARDEN

It can therefore be assumed that the window dates from sometime after 1990. The window was originally installed in the church of St. Modwen in Sutton in Ashfield when that church was closed and demolished in 1991. The family of Ronald Hartshorn possibly paid for the removal and installation.

All the windows on the north and south walls are of the same style with four lights in each glazed with ripple glass. However, the south elevation has four windows and the north just two.

An old newspaper image from 1928 indicates that the above lights at least on the north side might originally have been more decorative, possibly stained glass. In the same image the west window, now removed, also appears to be more ornate.

On the north wall of the church are four windows each comprising of six lights, three long ones below with three short ones above. On the south wall only one window is present. All are glazed in modern translucent glass dating from the 1960 renovation.