The large stock room of the WH Smith store in Shrewsbury’s Pride Hill is a treasure trove for stained-glass enthusiasts. (Sadly it’s off-limits to the public now).
Its windows were installed in the 1920s by Morris & Co, which had created the most opulent tea-rooms the town had seen. As well as the windows, a grand fireplace adorned the space. (Fortunately, the windows have not been touched since those days).
As you’d expect, loggerheads, as a symbol of Salopian pride, were all over the room.
The photos above & right show a detail from the central one of the six windows.
Actually, although it shows three leopards heads, these are not 'Salopian loggerheads', but the three leopards’ heads from the town arms of Stratford upon Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare. The reason for the Stratford connection is that the room was fashioned in mock-Elizabethan style.
However, it’s a rather bizarre image really; the artist appears to be mashing up the arms of Stratford, a scroll with a pen (to represent Shakespeare I think) and the windmill-tilting scene from the book of Don Quixote. (The arms of Stratford should also have a blue chevron, not a red).
Very odd mix. Can someone explain it?
It would also be lovely if someone carried out a full-scale examination of all these windows before too much time goes by.
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