Stained glass windows in St Nicholas' church, Oakley.
"There is a nice collection of medieval fragments in the side windows, and some good 1960s glass up in the parvise. The medieval glass includes the top part of a St Christopher carrying the Christchild on his shoulders, a Priest, and the head of Christ as the Man of Sorrows. best of all, a 15th century primrose, which so easily could have been copied from the life in this churchyard.
The subjects of the windows reflect a rather intellectual approach, with figures of what must have been some fairly obscure Saints in the late 19th century, including St Denys and St Longinus. Best of all, the large figures have been given the faces of members of the familes of George Paterson and his wife. Most striking is probably St Denys, who has the head of Mrs Paterson's brother. The best glass of all is the Presentation in the Temple; it's breathtaking. Anna is Paterson's mother, and perhaps Simeon is his father, or even Paterson himself."
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In the window depicting Saints Nicholas, George, and Edmund there are two shields that represent stories of the saints -
1. The three children in a tub -
refers to the miracle of S.Nicolas, who restored them after they had been murdered and salted down for food; and in the insignia of the SEE OF ABERDEEN the Bishop is represented as praying over them.
"The Evil Butcher -
Three small children were gleaning in the fields. As they worked and played, they wandered off into the town. Walking about and exploring, the children forgot the time.
When it was late and the sun going down, the children were hungry, tired and lost. They came to a lighted butcher’s shop, knocked and said, “We are lost and hungry. May we eat and sleep?” “Oh, yes,” came the reply, “do come in.”
As they enter, the butcher takes a sharp knife, cuts them up, and puts them in a large salting tub. Seven years pass.
A knock comes on the door. Bishop Saint Nicholas appears, saying to the evil butcher, “Open your large salting tub!” The saint puts his hand on the tub and, appealing to God, says, “Rise up, children.” The little children awake and stand up. Their families joyfully welcome them home.
Ever since St. Nicholas has been the patron and protector of children."
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2.The Wolf and the Head -
"The Legend of St Edmund and the Wolf
Edmund, King of East Anglia, fought against the Danish invasion, but on 20 November 869 he was captured. When he refused to give up his Christian faith the Danes tied him to a tree, shot him with arrows until he ‘bristled like a hedgehog’ and then decapitated him. The King’s men came to find his body after the battle, but they could not find his head. Hearing a cry of ‘Here, here, here’ from a nearby wood, they discovered a wolf protecting the head of the King. The wolf allowed the men to take the head and, when placed with the body, a miracle occurred and the head fused back on.
Edmund’s final resting place was in the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds where his shrine soon became one of the most famous and wealthy pilgrimage locations in England."
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