Wilfred Owen Stained Glass Window

We had a truly fabulous morning at all Saints Church in village of Dunsden, viewing the stained glass window which commemorates the life and time of Wilfred Owen during his time living at Dunsden between 1911 and 1913. The weather was perfect with the sun shining through the window, showing it in all its glory. It certainly had the wow factor and many of us learnt so much about Wilfred Owen and the time he spent in and around Dunsden. The viewing experience was made all the better as candles were lit in the church due to the absence of power, meaing the window’s glory was not dulled by electric light. 

Linda Glithro very impressively spoke off the cuff giving details of how the window came about, the selection process to appoint the window’s designer and all the hard work which had gone into raising funds for and the planning of the design and build of the window.

Linda took the audience through the individual constituents of the window. The design of the window invites the viewer to start at its foot where a young Wilfred Owen is pictured, and rising upwards, moves through pinks and blue hues of the sky, to a moon-filled night and on to the infinite stars and unknowable cosmos. The ascending movement is guided by curving text which leads the eye up, around and down so as to complete the circle of life. The window’s multi layered design means that images appear and disappear depending on the light conditions. Linda picked out and explained the images depicted and how they related to Owen’s poetry and his time in Dunsden, some of which were not obvious on initial inspection. 

For those who were able, the church’s graveyard was also explored, with Linda pointing out the graves of Owen’s parents, Sally and Thomas Owen, his sister Mary Millard, as well as Mary Allen and her daughter Hilda, whose death inspired Owner’s poem ‘Deep under Turfy Grass’.

Words by Elaine Marriner and photos courtesy of Sue Sharland.