N3 St Gregory and the English children and Martyrdom of St Alban
To the greater glory of God and in thankful and ever loving remembrance of Flight Sergeant Adam Desmond Stanley Boult RAF VR Fighter pilot who gave his life for his country on the Burma frontier 16th January 1943. Aged 22 years. This window is placed here by his parents.
The left hand light depicts St Gregory and the English children.
Eight figures are shown including three young people in an urban setting above the inscription “St Gregory and the English children”.
Gregory belonged to a rich, noble Roman family but decided to become a monk. In the year 587 he saw some boys offered for sale in the market place in Rome. When he enquired about their nationality he was told they were Angles. “Not Angles, but Angels” he replied. He became Pope in 590 and in 596 he sent Augustine on a mission to England.
The right hand light depicts the Martyrdom of St Alban. Five figures are shown plus one holding a sword aloft in the act of execution.
St Alban kneels in prayer awaiting the blow.
Little is known of St Alban, the first English martyr. Bede tells us that a priest, fleeing for his life in time of persecution, came to the house of Alban who was a Roman and a pagan. The priest was given shelter and Alban was converted to Christianity. When the pursuers caught up with the fugitive, Alban helped him to escape and was captured himself. Because he refused to renounce his Christian faith he was executed by Roman solders during the 3rd or 4th century reputedly in St Albans.
The two predellae display coats of arms - the left hand of Pocklington School and the right hand of the Royal Air Force.
Tracery – In the dominant light the arms of the Boult family – a gold shield with three crosses and a red chevron with silver lion, motto below “Industrie”.
This window was designed by James Hogan for James Powell & Son in 1944 at a cost of £275.