Let there be light

Fife holiday 2026 #20

Whilst wandering the streets of St Andrews, I was delighted to come across a shop that still had its original Victorian cast iron and glass pavement lights, intended to allow a certain amount of light into the basement below. There used to be some in Saltaire but I think they have all been removed. The glass and iron deteriorates over time (those shown have been repaired with wood in places). I do like them. They usually look dusty and dull in situ but a bit of processing trickery lifts the colours. 

 

St Andrews - St Salvators

Fife holiday 2026 #13

The unexpected gem of my perambulation of St Andrews was the beautiful college chapel of St Salvator, dating back to 1450 but much changed since then (largely due to the Protestant Reformation when it was stripped of most of its iconography). What we see now owes much to the Gothic Revivalist style popular in Victorian times, and some sympathetic modern additions, but the chapel retains a dignity and serenity that I found most appealing. 

Behind it is a quadrangle of university buildings. I gather that the Prince and Princess of Wales resided in St Salvator's Hall during their first year at St Andrew's University (which is famously where they met) but the buildings behind the chapel are not the student halls of residence, which lie beyond. 

As I was nearing the Chapel, a large tour bus stopped outside to deposit its passengers. I upped my pace in order to get inside before they did! So I at least had a few peaceful moments to myself, and took all the interior shots with my phone in order to speed up the process. I am quite pleased with how they turned out.  

As I left the Chapel, I noted a man in a full Scottish kilt outfit entering. I then realised that there was about to be a wedding. Guests were gathering outside the main entrance on the street side of the Chapel and there was a bagpiper who began to play, so I was delighted to see that. It was an unexpected bonus, since if I'd arrived a few minutes later I would not have been able to go inside. Serendipity. 

Around the ruined Priory

This is a classic view of the ruined Priory. It's not as large nor as well preserved as some of our other great Yorkshire abbeys but its setting in a curve of the River Wharfe does make it rather beautiful. Looking down to the river from the ruins themselves, much of the floor plan just exists as broken walls. 

There are traces of what would have been a cloister, with a piscina in the wall. 

Some of the tracery of the windows and doors remains. 

The graves to the north and east of the Priory Church are relatively recent compared to the 850 year history of the site and the graveyard to the east, sloping down towards the river, is still in use. 

It's rare that you can see much of the detail of a stained glass window from the outside, but the sunlight shining through the larger windows on the south side of the nave illuminated those on the north side quite effectively. 

The Priory Church

The colourful Advent wreath was still on display in the Priory Church at Bolton Abbey. It's not a huge church, taking up just the nave of what was once the Augustinian monastery's church, but it is beautiful and has an interesting history. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, special dispensation was given to the local villagers to continue to worship here, which they had been doing since 1170. The east wall, behind the altar, was built in 1539 to separate the nave from the rest of the priory that was sacked and is now in ruins.  

Rebuilt in 1877, the east wall is now painted with flowers and symbols including Madonna lilies, a reminder that the church is dedicated to St Mary. 

Various renovations in the late 1800s included the addition of six windows by Augustus Pugin, a leading figure in the Gothic Revival. (See three of them below)

In the side aisle there is a stone altar, the oldest item in the church and probably the original high altar, in use by 1170. During the Reformation, many stone altars were destroyed. They believe this one was saved by being used to cover the entrance to a crypt. It was rediscovered and re-erected here in 1985. It had a brass plate set in the middle that showed the name of the occupant of the crypt but there is speculation that that was added over a hollow that might originally have held a sacred relic, covered by a thin sheet of stone. If that's true, this is rather a rare piece. 

This Anglican church remains rather traditional, leaning towards anglo-catholicism. The lights above the altar are kept lit day and night to indicate that the Blessed Sacrament (the bread and wine used in Holy Communion) is reserved here. The Reserved Sacrament is used to give Communion to the sick and housebound.  

The flower arrangements in the Priory Church are always beautiful. I suspect there is at least one professional florist in the congregation, or perhaps they 'buy them in', since the church attracts so many visitors. 

Christmas Day 2025

 Nativity window, St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh (Victorian, Ballantine) 

The last couple of months, for me, have been full of all sorts of upheaval, good and bad combined (though, thankfully, even the difficult things have turned out in the end to be solvable and ultimately positive). It's something of a relief to finally arrive at Christmas. Busy and chaotic though it may be, it is nevertheless a firm reminder of steadfast love and the power of good over evil. 

Wishing all who celebrate it a very happy, peaceful and hopeful Christmas - and to those who don't, a good time nevertheless. 

'Loving Father, help us to remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men. Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and with every greeting.' 

In Kettlewell village

As you approach Kettlewell village from the Grassington direction, the road crosses a wide bridge across the River Wharfe. Although up here in the dale it's quite a 'young' river, it nevertheless meanders broad and slow through the flat-bottomed valley, a textbook U-shaped valley gouged out by glaciers over 10,000 years ago. 

I've taken lots of photos in Kettlewell over the years and for some reason didn't feel that inspired on this latest visit. I did enjoy this vibrant red cotoneaster set against the blue paintwork and stone. It's been an amazing year for autumn fruit of all kinds. 

Kettlewell has a pretty church, St Mary's, which was open to visitors. It's not that old (1885) but stands on the site of an earlier church. 

A brief burst of sunshine outside cast attractive shards of colour onto the stonework from the stained glass windows. I love that effect. 

Many of the windows in the church are memorials, as above. That below is one of a pair that were relocated from the village's Methodist church when it closed in 1986. It shows 'The Good Shepherd', an appropriate image in this farming valley full of sheep. 

Elsewhere in the village, I was drawn to document the 'vintage' garage. I don't think Burmah petrol actually exists any more, taken over by BP around 2000. It looks like you can still buy petrol and diesel of some kind here, which I'm sure is welcomed by residents although there's a rather more modern fuel outlet in nearby Threshfield.  

St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh

Edinburgh #2

My first proper stop was at St Giles Cathedral, the High Kirk of Edinburgh. With a 900 year history, the present church dates in parts back to the 14th century. It has been considerably altered over the years, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, when in 1911 the beautiful 'Knights of the Order of the Thistle' chapel was added. It has a rich history, almost too much to take in. (See HERE) 

Notably, in our own time, on 12 September 2022, the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II was taken to the cathedral for a service of thanksgiving, having travelled from Balmoral Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse the previous day. The Queen's coffin then lay at rest at the cathedral for 24 hours, guarded constantly by the Royal Company of Archers, allowing the people of Scotland to pay their respects. In the evening, the Queen's children: King Charles III, the Princess Royal, the Earl of Inverness (Andrew) and the Earl of Forfar (Edward) held a vigil at the cathedral, a custom known as the Vigil of the Princes.

The cathedral has some magnificent stained glass, much of it Victorian (by Ballantine) but some more recent, including a memorial window to Robert Burns above the west door (middle of second photo), which unfortunately I didn't manage to photograph properly. 

In the chapel dedicated to the Knights of the Order of the Thistle, there is some wonderful wood carving, many heraldic symbols and a magnificent vaulted ceiling. It's beautiful. 

The church became a Protestant church in 1559 after the Scottish Reformation. John Knox (above) was a Scottish priest who converted to Protestantism in the 1540s and fled into hiding and exile. On his return to Scotland he marched an army of followers into St Giles’ and preached there for the first time. The following week he was elected its minister and the building was stripped of its Catholic decoration. His burial place was in the churchyard, which is now a car park for the nearby High Court. They say he's under space 14! 

It's the first time I've been inside the cathedral. Like all of Edinburgh though, it was busy and it was difficult to move around and take photos freely. I shouldn't complain as I was 'a tourist' too but it did get a bit tedious continually having to avoid Chinese youngsters taking selfies all over town! 

William Morris stained glass

The main reason I visited Bradford Cathedral recently was because I'd booked on a guided tour of the building's William Morris stained glass. It turned out to be very interesting. 

During a period of restoration in 1863, a Mrs Tolson decided to give some money for a window in memory of her husband Richard, a Bradford solicitor. One of her late husband's friends, John Aldam Heaton, was an admirer of the work of the Pre-Raphaelites, William Morris and his friends, and suggested that the glass should be sourced from them. It was one of the first stained glass commissions the company undertook. Then a second window by the company was added in 1864. 

The windows were installed towards the east end of the church, and removed when this was remodelled. 

The one installed in 1864, in memory of Mary Hartley, was dismantled and placed in a crate, stored for 26 years until rediscovered. It has been restored and parts are now in the transepts, and some of the pieces have been arranged as an illuminated panel (above). The angels are the work of William Morris himself, with Salvator Mundi (Saviour of the World) by Albert Moore, and a Pelican (a Christian symbol) by Philip Webb in the middle. 

 

The seven-light 1863 window, 'Witnesses to Christ', was reused in the new Lady Chapel, but had to be split into three panels. I've put them together again in the composite below. 

Records have survived that detail which of the artists in the William Morris collective created each piece and how much they cost. It's really interesting to note the differences between the artists' approaches. 

The figure of John the Baptist (below), is by William Morris himself. Philip Webb was responsible for a lot of the background pieces, many of which include plants and flowers, key motifs of Pre-Raphaelite imagery. 

Mary Magdalene (below), holding her jar of anointing oil, is the work of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. She has the long russet tresses associated with many of his muses. Apparently, in the original design she was more scantily clad. This was considered inappropriate for the context so he had to add more garments. 

Ford Madox Brown contributed Abraham (below) clutching a knife, with his terrified son Isaac hanging on to his leg. Plenty of drama and emotion in this depiction. 

King David (below) is by Edward Burne-Jones, in a gentler, more romantic style. 

I love stained glass, as you know, so I found this all very fascinating. These are masterpieces, with similar works by William Morris and Co and other notable glass studios dotted around in churches all over the UK. Their significance is easily overlooked. They were meant to tell stories to (often illiterate) congregations. A picture can hold a thousand words, after all. 

Incidentally, the cathedral also unearthed the beautiful altar cloth, above, stored away in a drawer somewhere. It has been authenticated as a Morris and Co embroidery, likely done by William Morris's wife Jane, who was a skilled needlewoman. The sweeping foliage and fruit: grapes and pomegranates, are typical symbols used in the Pre-Raphaelite and Arts and Crafts movements.