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“The Four Seasons” - Psalm 1 ~ Vs 3

Saint Nicholas’s Church, Longparish, Hampshire ~2015 ~

Two panel window and quatrefoil to the west end

The beautiful and peaceful River Test that runs close by beside the church has been the inspiration for the imagery in the new window to illustrate Psalm 1:3.

‘And he shall be like a tree planted by the waterside,

that will bring forth his fruit in due season.

His leaf also shall not wither;

and whatsoever he doeth, it shall prosper.’

Longparish, Hampshire and the church of St Nicholas

The concerns of ecology to conserve and protect our living planet are included here.  Essentially the verse Psalm 1:3 exhorts us to lead a ‘good life’ at all times and our virtue will be rewarded.

The renewal of the cycle of life in the river and in the land that the river nourishes is also a reference to the sacrament of Baptism and the River Jordan. It also reminds us of death and life continuing, a reference to the Resurrection.

The central image is one of the fruiting tree, ‘planted by streams of water’ just as the River Test is comprised of many streams flowing together. The tree roots are bedded in the river, and the branches that fill the top of the windows burst into fruit and leaf, maturing in the turn of the year that eventually returns to winter dormancy.

• The season of winter at the foot of the tree has banks of grass covered in snow and ice, with snowdrops emerging as a promise of life to come. In the stream bed lie the eggs of river trout, new life ready to emerge.

• In spring the trout fingerlings lie hidden in streaming water weed, anchored in the river bed, yet flowering up towards the surface and the light from above.

• The summer season is illustrated by the fish basking in the lazy waters and deeper pools, water lilies opening to flower in the summer sun.

• As summer turns to autumn and leaves from the tree fall into the current, the fish jump to catch flies and other insects flit across the surface and dance in the air.

The new window at the historic church of St Nicholas at Longparish, Hampshire is in commemoration of the 250 years association of the family of John Woodcock Esq OBE with the church. The cycle of life of the river depicted in the window celebrates the continuity of the long family connection with the church and the parish.

The window was consecrated and dedicated by Rt Revd. David Williams, Bishop of Basingstoke on 13th September 2015 at Choral Evensong.

The life cycle of the brown trout passes throughout the seasons from Winter eggs amongst the gravel of the river bed, to adult fish leaping for flies dancing in the Autumn breeze. The Hampshire chalk stream water weeds flow in the swirling waters and provide shelter for the growing trout, and flowering in the spring and summer warmth.