Home
Art
Architectural Projects
St. John the Divine
St. John the Divine
1973
In 1973, Canon Ron Greenall, vicar of the Church of St. John the Divine in Coppull, commissioned Brian Clarke to create a replacement window for the church. Greenall had come to know Clarke through his studio, located in a former furniture shop on Brook Street in Preston, where Clarke had moved in 1972. Coincidentally, the studio was near a shop owned by the Canon’s mother-in-law.
Clarke’s stained glass window depicts the Exalted Christ, the first of the seven visions of John of Patmos. In this vision, Christ appears to the praying John on the Isle of Patmos, where the saint was exiled. Following traditional iconography, Clarke portrayed Christ flanked by seven golden lampstands, symbolising the seven churches, and holding seven stars in his right hand, representing the angels of those churches.
An inscription in the lower section of the window reads: 'In Memory of John and Mary Birtwistle 1973'.
Following the installation, a visiting vicar from Longridge remained impressed by Clarke’s work and subsequently commissioned him to design five pairs of windows for St. Lawrence Church in Longridge.