Apple to be preserved in glass

There are plans for a new stained glass window at Southwell Minster to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Bramley apple.

Descendants of Mr Henry Merryweather, who was the first person to market Bramley apples commercially, have asked the minster for a window to mark the apple’s bicentenary next year.

Mr Henry Merryweather’s great-grandchildren, Mr Roger Merryweather, of Brinkley, and his sister Mrs Celia Steven, of Devon, are leading the project on behalf of the Merryweather family.

Mr Merryweather said it was rare for the minster to dedicate a new stained glass window. The last one was the Angel West window in 1996.

“If we are given approval we would feel very honoured,” said Mr Merryweather. “The Bramley is very much part of Southwell’s history.”

The window, if approved, could be dedicated at a service on March 21 next year.

Mr Merryweather, recently installed as the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, said the proposed window in the north transept had plain coloured glass but no definitive designs.

“It lends itself to being used for stained glass,” he said.

Mr Merryweather said a possible design was expected to be shown to minster officials next month.

He said the designs featured more than one apple but there was a question of how they would be depicted, such as in the tree of life, the Garden of Eden, or as part of the four seasons.

Mr Merryweather did not want to comment on the cost or who was paying for it but said it was a family project.

The dean said: “We are very much looking forward to the bicentenary celebrations and as the minster community we want to affirm that historic link with the town and are delighted that the Merryweather family offered to commemorate that with a window in the minster.”

He said the design would be a subtle interpretation and would be sensitive to the Norman architecture and the unity of the other windows.

He said the minster’s fabric advisory committee had approved the principle of the window and had seen drafts of what was proposed. He said the committee had not seen the final proposal.

A design will be considered by on April 22. There would then be a public consultation before it was determined by the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England, which promotes the care and conservation of the cathedral churches of the Church of England.