After the Second World War, when the church was damaged on 20th March 1945 by a V2 rocket,
several new windows were installed, including the east window, the Lady Chapel window,
the window at the west end of the north aisle, ‘Suffer the little children’, and the one dedicated to
St Alban in the Memorial Chapel.
These four are the work of Sir Ninian Comper, (the last one being by Comper and Bucknall). Comper was one of the greatest of the stained glass designers of his time; he designed the windows on the north side of the nave of Westminster Abbey
(where his ashes are interred beneath a plaque commemorating him); also the east window, and one other, in Southwark Cathedral.
The East Window
The North light
At the top there is a seraph with red wings. This is taken from Isaiah Chapter 6 verse 2:
‘each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet,
and with twain he did fly’.
Beneath is the symbol St John, the Lamb. Below this is the figure of St John the Baptist holding a lamb.
Then there is a pattern of three money bags which stand for the bags of gold thrown as dowry by St Nicholas into the house of three girls to save them from prostitution.
It is appropriate that the saint is shown below in his bishop’s attire with two children beside him. One child is standing holding a Bible; the other is kneeling to receive a blessing.
It is because of his championing of children that he has become known as Santa Claus.
He is in the window to acknowledge that St John’s was the daughter church of St Nicholas, Chislehurst.
The Centre light
Above, encircled with flaming golden light within a mandorla (the almond shape),
a beardless Christ in Majesty sits holding up his hands in blessing.
Over Jesus hovers the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove.
You can see the tie between John the Baptist and Jesus in this (Mark Chapter 1 verse 10).
Beneath the feet of Jesus is the world with seven stars, symbolising the Virgin Mary, who stands below her son as an adult, but she holds the infant Jesus on her right arm.
Two angels on either side of her hold a cloak decorated with fleur-de-lys.
Beneath is a heraldic device, a shield with four drops of blood in the top quarters and three in the lower quarters.
This device is known as ‘gouty de sang’, and is related to St Anselm below in the third frame.
He was Archbishop of Canterbury, and a contemporary of St Margaret of Scotland, and is probably included in the window as he shared two attributes with her: exile, and love of learning.
He, too, has a blue cloth at his back decorated with fleur-de-lys, but not supported by angels.
He holds a crozier, and he carries a book entitled ‘Cur Deus Homo’, ‘Why God (was) man’, which was one of his great works, proving the necessity of the incarnation.
The drops of blood cannot refer to his martyrdom as he died in his bed, but to the incarnation and sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
St Anselm engaged in fierce arguments with Kings William Rufus and Henry I over the investiture of church leaders.
He maintained that only the church had the authority to choose its bishops, and in the course of these disputes he was twice exiled.
The dispute over investiture came to a head in the reign of Henry II when Becket was murdered in Canterbury.
The South light
As in the north light a red, winged seraph is at the top. Beneath is a chalice with a snake or dragon emerging from it.
This is from the legend of St John’s being challenged by a priestess, and driving Satan from the cup. In the figure of St John the Evangelist, he is holding a scroll, his Gospel, while a watchful eagle, his symbol, sits at his feet.
Below again is a diamond-shaped shield, on the left of which is the lion of Scotland, and on the right is a cross with a martlet in each quarter.
This latter device is that attributed in later years to the coat-of-arms of Edward the Confessor.
Now we come to St Margaret, a descendant of Edward.
The figure is inscribed Margareta Regina and she holds a crucifix and a Bible. She seems to have no direct relationship with Kent.
She was the granddaughter of Edmund Ironside, king of England before Canute. She married King Malcolm of Scotland, whose father Duncan was murdered by Macbeth (see Shakespeare).
Her life was devoted to scholarship and good works. Since Margaret is derived from the Greek word ‘margaron’ meaning pearl, she became known as the Pearl of Scotland.
Towards the end of her life she lived with her husband in Edinburgh Castle, where there is a chapel dedicated to her.
Her daughter Matilda was married to King Henry I, thereby uniting the Norman and Saxon crowns. In the bottom right hand corner of St Margaret’s figure in the inscription ‘This window restored in 1951 replaces one destroyed by enemy action in 1945’.
There is a strawberry plant which is the mark of Comper. He was eighty-six years old at the time and had been knighted the year before.
Perhaps Comper included St Margaret because he was a Scot! It is fitting that the east window should honour not only Our Lord and His Mother, St John the Evangelist and John the Baptist, but also Anselm, Nicholas and Margaret who were saints of their times.
Two other windows bear Comper’s mark: the window in the Lady Chapel (1947) and St Alban in the Memorial Chapel (1956). The window at the west end of the south aisle, ‘Suffer the little children’, is by Comper and Bucknall.
The Lady Chapel
Mary and Jesus are within a mandorla. She stands on a crescent moon and above her is a vase of lilies, both symbols of purity. Comper’s mark, the strawberry plant, is clearly visible in the bottom right corner, with the date, MCMXLVII (1947).
Four windows on the Lady Chapel’s south wall are by Bell and Beckham; The Nativity, the Flight into Egypt, the Holy Family, and Christ with the doctors. The panel in memory of a mother and baby was previously in the chapel of Queen Mary’s Hospital, as mentioned above.
South Transept and South Aisle
The first windows are a memorial to the Rev Shirley Woolmer. The three lights depict the Shepherds, the Nativity, and the Wise Men. and are by Percy Bacon.
Some of the faces appear to have acquired a green tinge, and the dedication below the lights is out of sequence.
Above these windows are two oculae (round windows) depicting the Holy Spirit as a dove.
The next window along the south aisle, also by Percy Bacon, portrays the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth; then St. George by Maile (you can see the firm’s mark, a mailed fist).
Next are four windows by Heaton, Butler and Bayne: St Cecilia, then three scenes of healing.
Then three windows by Percy Bacon: Dorcas, the Good Samaritan, and Caritas (Charity).
The last window, ‘Suffer the little children’ is by Comper and Bucknall.
This area was the baptistry before the font was moved to the north aisle in 2020.
The North Aisle
Starting from the west end: St Paul; then Daniel. Behind the Rest Room is St Gregory. There is no maker’s mark; the colour and style of the face suggest it may be a late Kempe and Tower design, though the canopy is not in Kempe’s style.
Next, the Annunciation, signed by Maile. There follow four windows in memory of men who died in World War I, the last being by Percy Bacon. St Martin, by the north door, is by Heaton, Butler and Bayne.
The next window represents Zacharias, Elizabeth and John (Maile). The window depicting St John (1946) is by Morris of Westminster (not William Morris!). St Alban, by Comper, (1954) was the first martyr in England. He was a Christian Roman soldier.