Window for Essendon Bellringers

An article by one of the bellringers

A memorable and lasting celebration...

Millennium Window for Essendon ChurchOctober 5th 2003 was a very special day. With the new parish room, the bellringers' millennium window was dedicated by the Bishop of St. Albans to commemorate the worship of God through bellringing. The new window celebrates the long standing tradition of English bellringing and shows that this ancient art is still practised on the bells in Essendon church.

There have been bells hung for full circle ringing in Essendon church tower since 1681. The bellringers wished to mark the turn of the 20th century with a special stained glass window designed, cut, fused, etched and painted by local stained glass artist Tessa Verrecchia.

Tessa is one of a few English artists helping to revive the fused glass technique, neglected since Roman times, of firing pieces of glass overlapping each other to liquid point so that the colours and shapes are incorporated into a single pane of glass with fascinating tints and textures, and she has produced a truly spectacular window.

However, it is possible that visitors viewing the window may miss some features and this leaflet is designed to provide an explanation of these elements.

Close-up picture of cedar tree in the churchyardAt the very top, in the centre pane, you see a representation of the famous cedar tree, a Cedar of Lebanon, located in the churchyard to your right as you exit the south door. At the top of the centre piece of the window are Close-up picture of the angels two angels robed in red and yellow with their wings outstretched behind them. Their touching hands hold two handbells which signify the set of seventeen handbells which are used for tune ringing at Essendon for various occasions. Under the angels is the belfry showing the eight bells with their dates of casting, the oldest being 1681.

To either side of the main panel are representations of the sun that shines on bellringing and the vibrant colours and swirling shapes and patterns denote the sound of the bells as it ascends to heaven. You may notice a black etching just to the right of the top of the half sun. There is also one on the corresponding side on the left. These are bats. We presently play host to a number of bats whose droppings are cleared annually, another job for the ringers! You may have missed the inscription above each of the three upper windows which lead to a point saying "and our mouths shall show forth thy praise". 'Mouth' in this instance refers to the bell mouth.

Under these panels, you see the words 'Essendon Bell Ringing' below which is another wonderful sun. Close-up picture of Essendon village The green panel under this sun is a depiction of the village from Holwell Lane. The detail of this section is staggering; can you see the lost sheep in the field?

The last section comprises the year 2000 in the centre denoting the celebratory year, and on either side, etched into the glass in black, you will see a squiggly line. This is Close-up picture of bellringers bell ringing "music" and inscribed is the method called Essendon Surprise Major composed by the present tower captain, John Ford. On his website you can see another article about Tessa's window which includes a closeup of this.

We hope you will be inspired to think about taking up the age old tradition of bellringing and we welcome student ringers. We practise at 8:15pm every Tuesday and further information can be obtained from the secretary, Christine Hunt, on 01707 261 236.