St. Peter and St. Paul Church - IV

There are other stained glass windows here to enjoy. This one, above, is quite nice. Since it is clear here that the lamb holds a special place in Christian mythology, the wool merchants here must have felt a particularly close connection to their religion.

St. Peter and St. Paul Church - III

 

The real stars of the church are the brasses embedded in the floor. The one above (excluding my feet, of course) is in memoriam to John Fortey who rebuilt much of the church using his fortune accumulated in the wool trade. If you look closely, you can see that one foot is on the back of a sheep and the other is on woolpack. Aligned on either side of John is a row of medallions. These are his woolmarks. This is the image he would stamp on the canvas wrapping of the woolpacks he sold, his trademark.

He began work on the church before his death and left 300£ fo the completion in his will. He also left 10 shillings each to 80 poor maidens to fund their marriage and fourpence to each prisoner in Gloucester Castle.

St. Peter and St. Paul Church - II

Naturally, windows come and go, so there is very little remaining from the original installations. This one is all clear glass.

St. Peter and St. Paul Church, Northleitch

'Tis but a small town, yet the church is so large. Northleitch with a population of just over 20,000 has pretty special church. It has been called by some the "Cathedral of the Cotswolds" (to be sure, several of the churches here seem to have also acquired this moniker). There are many special things to see here.