St Swithin Church - Frettenham , Norfolk - Stained Glass Windows on Waymarking.com

Long Description:
This striking window was designed and made by workers on a Manpower Services Commission programme, who restored the church during the 1980s. It dramatically illustrates Christ’s victory over Death at his resurrection. The eye at the apex of the window represents God the Father overseeing events. On the left the skeleton represents Death whilst on the right we see angel who rolled away the stone complete with magnificent wings.

The Victorian window now holds a modern depiction of the Keys of Heaven accentuated by the use of bright colours.

The window is dedicated to Brian Ernest Mason (1930 – 84) and contains a small roundel holding a shield representing St Swithin (or Swithun) who was a Saxon Bishop of Winchester famed for both charitable giving and building churches. According to legend the Bishop asked to be buried out of doors where he would be “trodden and rained upon”. Although his wish was initially granted, on 15th July 971 the monks of Winchester transferred his remains to a splendid shrine inside the Cathedral on this day there was a heavy rainstorm. This led to the “old wife’s tale” (totally without substantiation) that if it rains on St Swithin’s day it will be followed by 40 successive wet days conversely if the day is fine so will the next 40days. The emblems of St. Swithin are depicted on the shield and refer to the legend of the forty days' rain (raindrops) and the apples from the trees he planted. Indeed there is an old belief that when it rains on St. Swithin's Day, it is the Saint christening the apple crop.

The other window dates from 1922 and depicts “The Good Shepherd”

Type of building where window is located: Church Address: St Swithin Church Lane Frettenham, Norfolk United Kingdom None Days of Operation: daily - till dusk Hours of Operation: From: 12:00 AM To: 12:00 AM Admission Charge: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
GPS coordinates as close to the stained glass window as possible. A picture of entire window.

Windows must be stained glass and permanently affixed to a building of some sort (no color catchers or moveable or detached stained glass). Tell the story behind the window, the artist if known, the type of building where it is located and when the window was created.

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