Interior-general view of stained glass window

Description Interior-general view of stained glass window

Date 1901

Collection Records of Bedford Lemere and Company, photographers, London, England

Catalogue Number BL 17578

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies B 64450, SC 730227

Scope and Content John Ritchie Findlay Memorial Window, South Nave Aisle, St Giles' Cathedral, High Street, Edinburgh St Giles' Cathedral, the historical High Kirk of Edinburgh, dates from the late 14th century although some evidence remains of an earlier 12th-century church on the site. It was damaged and altered in the 16th century after the Reformation, and remodelled in the early 19th century before being restored in 1871-83 to much of its former glory. The interior was photographed in 1901 by the architectural photographer, Harry Bedford Lemere. This medieval-style stained glass window, by the artist, Charles Eamer Kempe, is a memorial to John Ritchie Findlay who died in 1898. It depicts Biblical characters - New Testament at the top and Old Testament at the bottom - in richly coloured jewelled robes, each holding the piece of writing that made them famous. The upper half, from left to right, shows St Luke, St John, St Paul, St Peter and St James, and the lower line (again left to right) shows King David, Solomon, Moses, Isaiah and Samuel. John Ritchie Findlay (1824-98) was a newspaper owner and philanthropist whose ownership of 'The Scotsman' newspaper brought him a huge fortune. He financed the building of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery which he gave to the nation in 1889, and contributed largely to the collections of the Scottish National Gallery. He held a number of offices in antiquarian, educational and charitable societies but avoided political office and refused the offer of a baronetcy. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Medium Glass

External Reference Box 35

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