Left: The whole window. Right: Closer view of Saint Michael. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
St Michael, attributed to Clayton & Bell, installed in the third window of the south aisle of William Butterfield's St Matthew's Church, Ashford, Surrey. This is an interesting window because of the earlier history of the church. The original house of worship here had been called St Michael's:
It is a complete mystery as to why the dedication was changed from St Michael to St Matthew. One view is that the Church Commissioners felt that the new church should have an Apostolic dedication, as only six churches in the Archdeaconry of Middlesex had the name of one of the Apostles. Another is that it was a slip of the tongue, but once consecrated, it could not be changed back! ["St Matthew's Ashford"].
St Michael, the warrior archangel, is shown with a drawn sword, holding aloft the scales of justice with which to judge between those who deserve to enter heaven, and those who do not.
Photographs, text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.
Related Material
Bibliography
Eberhard, Robert. "Stained Glass Windows at St Matthew's, Ashford, Surrey." Church Stained Glass Windows. Web. 12 March 2017.
"St Matthew's Ashford: History of the Parish." St Matthew's Ashford. Web. 13 March 2017.
13 March 2017