Explore The Church
THE LE MAISTRE WINDOW
The window to the right of the Benest Window, facing the organ, was given by Miss Marie Le Maistre in 1881 in memory of her parents. It is a “nurturing” window. The left-hand panel shows children being fed with bread (we cannot escape the reference to Jesus being the Bread of Life, as we are still in the sanctuary). The children have no shoes, reminding Christians of their obligation to give to the poor (Luke 12:33). The right-hand panel also shows children being fed, but this time with the word of God – the Holy Bible.
In these two scenes we have the feeding of body, mind and spirit with Jesus who is the Bread of Life (John 6:35) and the Word made Flesh (John 1:14).
Here, too, is a reminder that the Church’s mission is both practical and spiritual. It also provides a delightful contrast to the Benest window – if the latter is male, the Le Maistre window is female! So we may give thanks for Mother Church. The lilies at the top of the two panels, much loved by the Victorians, are a symbol of purity, which we may take as a reminder of Jesus’ words: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Luke 18:16)
