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TREASURE OF THE MONTH
With over 1,300 years of history, Lichfield Cathedral's story is one bursting with history, art and culture. Throughout history, the Cathedral has acquired a number of precious, rare and exquisite items, from ancient manuscripts to medieval stained glass - each with a story to be told.
This Treasure of the Month series offers the opportunity to highlight less well-known pieces from the Cathedrals collection, exploring the origins of our treasures.
Explore this month's treasure...
Treasure of the Month: The Herkenrode Glass
This little treasure is easily missed. It is to be found in the Lady Chapel, towards the bottom of the second window on the left from the east end.
The Herkenrode glass is well presented in the large touch screens that greet us as we enter the chapel from the west, so why pick this little image for special attention? The answer is that it is a classic and delightful example of Church art making the great Biblical stories relevant and familiar to local people. In this instance these magnificent windows, commissioned for the nuns at Herkenrode Abbey (about 50 miles south-east of Antwerp) in 1532 are made to contain an image of the abbey itself.
Indeed if we zoom out a little we find that the abbey is but part of a scene which shows the Virgin and Child meeting the nuns themselves. It is hard to imagine a closer relationship between the great Biblical story and the place in which it is being contemplated.
In 1795 Napoleon annexed the Herkenrode region to France. He launched the French Revolution's anti-catholic programme under which the abbey was taken over by the state and the nuns were permanently expelled.
The abbey building itself, having been used as a factory, was destroyed by fire in 1826 though some of its adjoining buildings survived and were used for other purposes. A modern artist's impression (left) shows how the abbey church and associated buildings would have looked shortly before the arrival of Napoleon's army.
Fortunately the glass had been removed and taken to safe keeping before Napoleon's troops arrived. It was bought by Brooke Boothby who sold it to the Dean and Chapter for the price he had paid. It was installed here between 1803 and 1806. The abbey itself may be no more, but its image remains for us all to enjoy.
Brooke Boothby (1743-1824) of Ashbourne Hall was a collector (financed by his wife's dowry) and a prominent literary figure in London and Lichfield, moving in circles that included Erasmus Darwin and Anna Seward.
(Image: Joseph Wright of Derby, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Windows into History - A Podcast with The Revd Canon Dr Gregory Platten
This Month The Revd Canon Dr Gregory Platten is joined by Michael Diamond, a Lay Member of Chapter, who maintains the inventory of Lichfield Cathedrals treasures.
Discover more Treasures of the Month
Posted on 22nd January 2021
Treasure of the Month - discover more in the series...
There is more to discover - Explore Lichfield Cathedral's Collections...