A memorial stained-glass window in Christ Church, The Dhoon, Glen Mona, Isle of Man.
This simple round-headed stained-glass window was installed in memory of John Thomas Corteen a. The window is predominantly clear save for a small red diamond pane near the foot of the light and a colourful roundel at the head. The roundel features the letters Alpha and Omega in gold set on a blue/purple background within a blue border. The Alpha/Omega symbol represents Christ as the beginning and end of all things.
The dedication at the base of the window is as follows:
"In Memory oF Thomas CORTEEN. Died 15th Aug 1926 aged 68 years and of his wife Isabella, nee QUILLIN. Died 26th January 1899 aged 36 years.”
The Isle of Man’s birth and baptism records seem to show that Thomas was born in 1858 and his mother was Jane and his father William who was a Mason.
At the 1881 Census in 1881, Isabella Quillin was eighteen years of age and was a Domestic Servant – Cook as the Dhoon Parsonage in Maughold. Meanwhile Thomas is a Boarder at 38 Church Street, Maughold. Thomas is shown as being a mason as are two other boarders at Mrs Hannah Howland’s Lodging House.
Before the subsequent Census in 1891 Isabella married Thomas and at the time of the Census the Corteen family were living in Wesley Terrace, Onchan (also known at the time as Conchan). The Corteen’s have a daughter Frances Lillie (4). Thomas is shown as being a ‘Mason’. Also in Wesley Terrace are Mary Quillin (66) – who is almost certainly Isabella’s mother and finally a boarder Thomas Faragher.
In the 1901 Thomas and his children are in Seaham Harbour, County Durham, England. Thomas is shown as being a ‘Mason Diver at Docks’. Also in the householder are Lilly (14), Emily (8), Thomas (6), John (4) and Hannah Morrison (31). Hannah who was born in Douglas, Isle of Man and is shown as a ‘Housekeeper’.
From the publicly available Census records it is not clear where Thomas and his family at the date of the 1911 Census or when he returned to the Island.
This Church is one of three churches in the Parish of Maughold the others being The Church of St. Pauls in Ramsey and Kirk Maughold.
It was built as a chapel-of-ease to Maughold but is now in shared Anglican and Methodist use.
The foundation stone of Christ Church was laid in June 1854 and the Church was consecrated in December 1855. The Church was built by Callow and Looney to a design by Ewan Christian of London, it cost £730. Architecturally is a reworking Christians style if Romanesque and so the windows and door openings are round headed not pointed. The interior is still largely unchanged from the original. The funds were largely provided by Mrs Saltmarshe and her daughters (Mr Saltmarshe had been the largest contributor to St. Thomas's Church Douglas.
The original 'Dhoon Church' was built around 1836 at the Dhoon Bridge which is about a mile to the south - and the name was transferred to the new church at Glen Mona (which has caused confusion ever since).
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source: Churches of Man by Jonathan Kewley (ISBN 978-1-899602-82-7)
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source: Hidden Histories: A Spotter's Guide to the British Landscape by Mary-Ann Ochota (ISBN 978-0-7112-3692-9)