I took this picture as I was leaving the church. The shape of the glass in the door mirrored the window, and I liked the contrast between the stained glass figures in the window and the real figures on the busy street.
I later discovered the glass in this window is the oldest in the church dating from the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centurys. Three of the main figures are thought to be St William, the Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven and St Helen. Opinion is divided on the identity of the kingly figure on the right, some suggest Edward the Confessor, others that it is Helen's son, the Emperor Constantine.
This is a closer view of the window in St Helen's church seen in yesterdays post. The window as you see it here is a composite from glass originally placed in the chancel. The four main figures are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
This is the interior of St Helen's church at the corner of Stonegate. It is a Church of England parish church founded around 1000 years ago. The fabric of the church is basically14th & 15th century but the present layout of the nave dates from 1858. This was the parish church of the glass painters and contains mediaeval as well as more modern stained glass.
The Sunday service is in Mandarin and English and led by York Chinese Church.
