Loggerheads in red

 

Here's another mystery. In the east window of St George's Church at Pontesbury (some seven miles from Shrewsbury) is this set of loggerheads.  But it's not clear why they are here. 

Also, though they have the right colouring for the leopards' faces (gold), the background is a rather luscious red rather than the traditional blue.   
Did the stained-glass artist of the time (the late Victorian era) simply not realise?   Or, is this gold and red version particular to some organisation or family?
If you know... let us know! 

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Big banner at Henry Tudor House

 
This is a detail taken from a fascinating illustration in Thomas Auden's 1905 Book Of Shrewsbury.  It shows one of the town's most famous historic buildings, Henry Tudor House, with a huge loggerheads banner hanging from it. Sadly, it's not clear if this flag-display was a permanent feature of the house at the time, or put up for a special occasion. 

Oddly, the artist only shows one shield of arms in the stained-glass of the central first-floor window, yet we know there are six shields today (see previous post).  Was this just a mistake by the artist, or were the current windows put in after 1905?  It would be lovely to know - suggestions please!

At the time of this illustration, a fishmonger called Harry Mudd tenanted Henry Tudor House (the ground floor at least), which is why there is a reference to Grimsby on the frontage, Grimsby being thought to be the home of the very best fish.

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Missing Angel puzzle

 

Here’s a real puzzle.  This image appears on the internet now and again, and is described ‘Painting at St Julian’s Church Shrewsbury, 1643’.  The image comes from a small hand-painted paper now in store at the Shrewsbury Town Archives, but there is no information as to exactly what old artefact this is a painting of... 
We don't know what the 1643 date refers to either, as the image itself was probably painted in the nineteenth century.

The only clue is in a line above the angel’s head which says "Angel taken from the tower of St Julian's". 
Is it a representation of an old coloured carving that was once on the tower side, or of a fresco once on its inside?
The people at St Julian’s Church don’t know anything about it and googling doesn’t lead to a result.

It would be wonderful to know some more of the story. Anybody know anything?

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Stratford mash-up

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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Shropshire earl's leopards

 
The Newports were an ancient Shropshire family which made it into the peerage when Francis Newport became Viscount Newport in 1675.  He then progressed upwards to be created Earl of Bradford (his esatte in mid-Shropshire) in 1694. His son later acquired Weston Park in the east of the county.

What's fascinating about the Earl's shield of arms is that it specifically references leopards. The spotted fur of leopards is quite clear in this device.   That's an important detail, because there's always been an argument over whether the loggerheads are in fact lions, though many heraldic experts down the years have actually identified the figures as leopards. 
Obviously, Francis plumped for leopards...

These leopards are not standard loggerheads. Standard loggerheads would be in blue & gold, and show no chevron - but neverthelss the earl's arms' configuration is related to them.

(Detail taken from the contemporary 'Hundreds in Shropshire' map by R Blome, which was dedicated to the first Earl)

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Shrewsbury's Welsh newspaper

 
The ‘Welsh Bridge Collectibles’ shop in Shrewsbury is a joy for any antiquarian.  Over three floors of a very old building, it has anything a collector of curios might want, from old books (of course) to toys of the past to figurines.  The best thing is that it’s properly arranged – no rooting about in disorderly & dusty junk!

In the old newspapers section, I found this Salopian Journal from 1837.  Like a number of Shrewsbury-based newspapers of the time, it carries the loggerheads on its masthead.  What’s very interesting is the newspaper’s description of itself – as the 'Courier Of Wales' (see pic right).  What we modern Salopians forget is that, until the middle of the nineteenth century, Shrewsbury’s area of interest outside the town was not the English West Midlands, but the North Wales region: thus, at this time, the town still had a very Welsh feeling.

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Design in stained-glass

 
It’s a shame that Shrewsbury's St Julian’s Church is now ‘redundant’ and so is closed nearly all of the time. It has a lot of lovely heraldic and decorative stained-glass among its features.
Fortunately, it was acquired by a man who has decided to keep the building as it is; and so it is still used at least a little, by a group that gathers for prayer and by the Greek Orthodox community.

In the mid-nineteenth century, David Evans was the go-to craftsman for stained-glass in Shrewsbury (and Shropshire).  His bright colours and design are actually quite special; and it’s believed that these loggerheads, in a window of the north side of the nave, are probably by him. Wh they are there... is anybod's guess.

If you want to know more about David Evans, one authority is Robert Walker and it’s worth checking to find out if he has any talks coming up.

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