St George’s Church, Beckenham, The East windows – a study

Introduction

The East windows – a set of five – were designed and made by Thomas Freeth. They replace the Victorian windows that were damaged in the Second World War.

Useful websites:
https://stgeorgesbeckenham.co.uk/history/windows/
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/search/actor:freeth-thomas-19121994
Also see the leaflet – The Freeth Windows

The five windows form a set which may be interpreted in many ways but the approach taken in the following descriptions is that of the course of time
from creation to the end times.

Connections are made backward in time with significant characters from history and also forward with judgement and the last days.

There are five windows each with three sections.
The central figure in each is Christ.

Moving from south to north the central figure is:
1. Christ, the second Adam
2. Christ, the prophet
3. Christ the Great High priest
4. Christ, the King
5. Christ, the Judge.

The faces are in a Byzantine style and each window has one or two predominant colours.

In the central window, which has a blue background, all three figures are Christ.
This window depicts the events at the end of Jesus life on earth.
On the north side can be seen the crucified Christ, with a crown of thorns.
At the bottom can be seen the serpent which he is crushing under his feet (Romans 16.20) (Genesis 3.15).
On the other side of the central figure, again with brown skin, is Christ rising from the tomb (the red and blue box) with the mark of the nail visible on his foot.
The central figure of Christ the Great High Priest, his hands raised in blessing He holds the thurible from which rises the smoke of burning incense of holiness and the chalice of his blood. This figure stands immediately above the priest at the altar during the prayer of consecration at the Eucharist.
In the tracery at the top can be seen once again the motifs: chi rho [ΧΡ], the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ – Christ; and the Α and Ω, alpha and omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet (Revelation 1. 8; 21. 6; 22. 13) – Christ the first and the last.