South Rose Window
The glass here was inserted in 1902 as a memorial to Hugh
Lupus Grosvenor, lst Duke of Westminster (d.1899). Messrs
Burlison and Grylls were supervised by G.F.Bodley and M.R.James,
Provost of Eton, drew up the scheme of figures. In the centre is
the figure of Christ, surrounded by sixteen figures symbolical of
the Virtues and Orders of Angels. In the outer circle are thirty
two figures chosen to represent the preparation of the World for
Christ (these include prophets and learned men such as Plato and
Aristotle). The four small lights in the corners represent (from
top left) Adam, St John the Baptist, Gabriel and the Blessed
Virgin Mary. A postcard is available from the shop.
The lancets below the rose represent teachers of the Greek and
Latin church and in the lower range Christianity in the British
Isles in the persons of (from left to right): Saints Alban,
Ninian, Patrick, David, Augustine and Aidan.
Nathaniel
Rogers
A small window in the east aisle of this transept was given in
1869 by Dr Rogers, to represent the poets of the Old and New
Testaments. David and St John. The glass is by Clayton and Bell
and the arms assigned to St Edward the Confessor also appear.
Edward
Horton Hubbard, or the Poets window
This modern window above Geoffrey Chaucer's tomb in Poets'
Corner was unveiled in 1994 as a memorial to Edward Horton
Hubbard (d.1989), architectural historian, who did much to save
the Victorian heritage of Liverpool. Designed by Graham Jones in
antique flash glass it contains small lozenges which act as
memorials to poets and writers. The abstract design is loosely
based on the 13th century geometrical layout of interrelated
roundels. Four authors have so far been commemorated:
Alexander Pope (1688-1744), poet and satirist, author of "An
Essay on Man".
Robert Herrick (1591-1674), lyric poet. His lines "Gather ye
rose buds while ye may" appears with his name and date.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), playwright. His name was added in
1995, the centenary of the first performance of "The Importance
of Being Earnest".
Alfred Edward Housman (1859-1936), poet and classical
scholar. His name was added in 1996 to mark the centenary of the
publication of "A Shropshire Lad".
Francis (Fanny) Burney (1752-1840), novelist, playwright and
diarist. Her name was added on 13 June 2002.
Christopher Marlowe (1564-?1593), poet and dramatist. His
name was added to the window on 11 July 2002.
None of the poets named here are actually buried in the Abbey.
A postcard of the complete window is available from the
shop.