September 2026
The first talk of the new DDHS season was given by Tim Richards who has given us 3 slides from his talk, with some annotation for each. Additional text and links, which open in a new tab, by Dr James Herring
The photo above shows an image of John the Baptist from a 1904 window by the ubiquitous Edinburgh firm of Ballantine & Gardiner, from St Anne’s Episcopal Church in Dunbar. This site tells us Ballantine of Edinburgh was founded by James Ballantine (1808-77) in 1838 and was one of the leaders in the revival of stained glass in Scotland. The firm traded under various names over the years as James was successively succeeded by his son Alexander Ballantine (1841-1906), who was also in partnership for a period with Herbert Gardiner, and grandson James Ballantine II (1878-1940).
In the second slide above, Tim Richards commented The multicoloured angel is a detail from the exceptional scheme of 21 windows by Nina Miller in Musselburgh’s Our Lady of Loretto RC church, depicting scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary. It was installed between 1945 and 1950. The speaker commented on how the faces of characters in the windows had changed over the decades, with the faces above being in a much more modern style, in comparison with the first photo. You can read a detailed biography of Nina Miller here.
Of the photo above, Tim Richards stated The third image is from St Mary’s Church in Haddington and shows a detail of King David from William Wilson’s fabulous ‘Divine Wisdom’ window. The speaker commented on the plethora of colours in the glass and the two modern figures at the bottom left and right. You can read a detailed biography, with many illustrations, of Wilson’s work as an artist and stained glass designer here.
Tim Richards was given a hearty round of applause at the end of the talk, which was accompanied by the following handout.
The 10 Best Churches in East Lothian for Stained Glass
• Cockenzie & Port Seton Parish Church
Except the Lord Build the House – MARGARET KEMP (1921)
The Good Shepherd – MARGARET CHILTON (1935)
Christ with St Peter, St Andrew & St Matthew – JOHN BLYTH (1949)
• Dirleton Kirk
David Anointed by Samuel – DOUGLAS STRACHAN (1916)St Francis window– MARGARET CHILTON (1935)
I am the Vine – ABBEY STUDIO (1961)
• Dunbar St Annes’s Episcopal Church
John the Baptist + St Andrew – BALLANTINE & GARDINER (1904)
The Sermon on the Mount – ABBEY STUDIO (1945)
• East Linton Prestonkirk
St Baldred – WILLIAM WILSON (1955)
• Haddington St Mary’s
Christ and the Woman of Samaria – BURNE-JONES (1895)
Great West Window: Christ in the Sea of Galilee – JAMES BALLANTINE (1905)
The Good Woman + Light of the World – JAMES BALLANTINE (1937)
Divine Wisdom –WILLIAM WILSON (1945)
St Margaret and St Helen – SAX SHAW (1973)
• North Berwick St Andrew Blackadder (vestibule)
The Physician and His Wife – MARY WOOD(1931)
St Baldred of the Bass – JAMES BALLANTINE (1936)
• North Berwick St Andrew Blackadder (upper church)
WW1 (Cree) Memorial – JAMES BALLANTINE (1931)
David and Jonathan Embracing – ABBEY STUDIO (1959)
St Paul Preaching to the Athenians – WILLIAM WILSON (1962)
• Musselburgh Our Lady of Loretto RC Church
Life of the Virgin – NINA & CHARLES DAVIDSON (21 windows – 1946-50)
• Tranent Parish Church
Christ with the 4 Evangelists & Scottish Saints – MARGARET CHILTON (1954)
Holy Family – WILLIAM WILSON (1966)
• Whitekirk St Mary’s
St Andrew + St John, St Luke + The Virgin Mary –KARL PARSONS (1916)
Browse stained glass photos from 25 Churches in East Lothian at:
https://flickr.com/photos/timrichards123/albums/ or here in a new tab.
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