Before John Corcoran left
Knox to return to England several years ago, he had prepared notes for
a guided tour of Knox's history, architecture and windows. John was
an artist and interested in the history of Christian art. His notes
on the windows have been edited by Gerry de Koning and used as a basis
for this online feature. These notes have been adapted for the web by
J Vanderhill, who also added the digital photography and the following
introduction.
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Stained Glass
Artwork
at Knox Church - An Introduction
When you think of stained glass windows and Knox
Presbyterian Church Spadina, perhaps the first image to come to
mind is the simple art nouveau flower design shown above; a pragmatic
placeholder design repeatedly decorating much of the sanctuary.
I had always wondered if any of these windows were necessary replacements
to "original" windows that had fallen victim to fire, vandalism,
iconoclasm, or perhaps even an act of God. I imagined scenes of
rowdy protestants with hockey sticks at the turn of the century
destroying windows in protest against some despicable idolatry...but
the truth is, the current building that houses Knox Church Spadina
isn't that old, and no - nothing quite like this has ever transpired
at Knox.
Iconoclasm
(aka The beeldenstorm for those from Dutch circles)
refers to the storming of images considered idols in the churches
of Flanders during the religious disturbances of the 16th century.
A scene
depicted in Antwerp, Belgium; etching from the 17th century
by Jan Luyken, from the collections of the Ghent
City Archives, Belgium.
www.gent.be/gent/english/history/gesch06.htm
At the turn of the Twentieth Century, Knox Church
was situated in downtown Toronto in the block bounded by Richmond,
Queen, Bay and Yonge Streets on the land that had been originally
donated by Jesse Ketchum. But when the "Simpson's fire" took out
the top of the church steeple in 1895, the tower was restored
without rebuilding a new spire. In fact, within a few years, the
entire church at Queen Street would be demolished, and the groundbreaking
for Knox Church Spadina would begin in 1907.
Knox Church Spadina was completed in 1909, but in fact, it wasn't
entirely completed. For one thing, the tower somewhat resembled
the Queen Street church tower, post fire. While there may have
been ambitious plans for a landmark church tower and spire at
the corner of Harbord and Spadina, none would come. With a frugal
restraint, the Knox Church bell tower was efficiently topped off
with a low roof.
Like the truncated tower, the simple decorative "placeholder"
stained glass windows have more to do with budgetary restraints
than anything else. It was thought that over time, they would
be completed with the traditional windows that decorate Knox.
When compared to the dark and ornately decorated traditional windows,
these light floral windows appear quite modern, and they tend
to let in a greater amount of light than their counterparts. We
can hope they will continue to let in the light for many more
years to come.
The firm Robert McCausland Ltd. is responsible for all
the stained glass window design and installation at Knox.
Founded in 1850 here in Toronto,
they are the earliest continuing stained glass window studio in
North America. According to Stained Glass Quarterly magazine,
they are responsible for 75% of all stained glass in Canada. Since
1856, they have created over 35,000 windows for churches and synagogues
world-wide.
I hope you enjoy this close-up review of the stained glass at
Knox Church online (best followed with a close-up inspection in
person!) Any additional contributions or corrections are welcome.
email: webmaster@knoxtoronto.org
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A familiar sight to Knox-goers,
the front cover of the Knox Songbook
"Hearts and Hands and Voices" features the windows above
the entrance doors on the East side of the church.
The photograph was taken by Janine Suboch,
and the cover artwork was designed by Lisa Wilson.
~ A Note About Stained Glass Windows
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Stained glass window "panels" are officially referred to as "lights".
Shown below is a classification chart of various window shape designs,
courtesy of Robert McCausland Ltd.
The windows at Knox most resemble Two and Three Light Perpendicular
Gothic with tracery.
Chart
courtesy of Robert McCausland Ltd.
1. Single-light Classical.
2. Two-light Venetian Renaissance.
3. Two-light Renaissance Classical.
4. Three-light Romanesque Classical.
5. Early Gothic Lancet.
6. Single-light Cusped.
7. Three-light Perpendicular Gothic with tracery.
8. Two-light perpendicular with tracery.
9. Two-light with Quatrafoil.
10. Three-light early Gothic with tracery.
11. Three-light early Gothic with tall central light.
12. Three-light with perpendicular tracery.
13. Three-light Gothic with Rondel.
14. Single-light Gothic Trefoil Cusp.
15. Two-light Gothic with Kite.
16. Three-light perpendicular plain.
17. Traceried Bull's eye with square centre.
18. Traceried Bull's eye with circular centre.
19. Single-light Saxon - Art Deco.
Links:
A History of Stained Glass Windows
www.stainedglass.org/html/SGAAhistorySG.htm
An Overview of Iconoclasm, from the early church to the Taliban
www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/2001/apr06.html
Robert McCausland
Ltd. of Toronto
www.eternalglass.com
Tiffany Stained Glass Windows at the Metropolitan Museum, NYC
www.metmuseum.org/explore/Tiffany/listsgw.htm
The Census of Stained Glass Windows in America
http://college.holycross.edu/organizations/csga/
The
Registry of Stained Glass Windows in Canada
www.yorku.ca/sabrown/RSGCpage.html
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www.knoxtoronto.org/history/stainedglass/index.html
© Copyright Knox Presbyterian Church, Toronto.
630 Spadina Avenue Toronto, ON M5S 2H4
- Phone 416.921.8993 - Fax 416.921.5918.
This page was last updated on
April 04, 2006.
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