File:Holy Trinity - Ancient Stained Glass (16) - geograph.org.uk - 1315023.jpg

English: Holy Trinity - Ancient Stained Glass (16). Panel 16: This final panel in the sequence depicts the emblem known as the Portcullis. A portcullis was a latticed gate that could be dropped down through grooves in the stonework to provide quick defence at the gateway to a castle. This stylised representation, with dangling chains was much favoured - and effectively made famous - by the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII (b. 1457, r.1485-1509), though having been used before that by the children of John of Gaunt, notably the Beaufort Family. Margaret Beaufort (1443-1509) {see http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/MargaretBeaufort2.jpg and note the window} was greatgranddaughter of John of Gaunt being the mother of Henry VII. It has been widespread and popular ever since. It is used today for example as the emblem of the Palace of Westminster. For those of us old enough to remember pre-decimal coinage, it was the final design to feature on the 12-sided 3d coins (threepenny ("thruppny") bits). My earlier comments suggest that perhaps this glass dates from Henry VII's reign - but that is just supposition.

Previous panel 1315006 First panel in sequence 1314893

(The following description is common to all panels in this sequence) Holy Trinity Church in Longlevens is only 75 years old, however the glass seen in this and the other photographs in the sequence is much, much older. This glass has been twice rescued; first it was collected by the antiquary Samuel Lysons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Lysons and placed in St Luke's Church in the City of Gloucester. However, in 1933 St. Luke's closed, and was demolished a little while later. This ancient glass was thankfully saved again and placed as panels in three windows of the newly built church of the Holy Trinity in Longlevens. The glass shown in this sequence is that to be found in the two windows in the northern wall of the Lady Chapel. I have not yet recorded the fragments in the West Window.

Ancient glass such as this is sadly rare in Britain, thanks to the iconoclastic ravages of the Puritans under Cromwell. During the so-called Protectorate, Cromwell and his fundamentalist acolytes destroyed much of the ancient beauty of our churches, smashing statues, whitewashing over frescoes and destroying any symbolism that they considered iconographic. As a result most magnificent mediaeval stained glass, that had depicted Bible stories to the illiterate for hundreds of years was smashed, removed and replaced by plain glass. Therefore any glass dating from before 1650 is extremely rare and to be treasured.