Identity:

Mrs Jane Holme, of Town View, Kendal, in the Lake District, was a patron of Beatrix Whistler. She had a daughter, Jane Mary Wilson, who died at the age of eight in 1880.

Life:

Holme commissioned Beatrix Whistler to design a memorial window for her daughter Jane at the west end of Orton Parish Church, near Shap in Cumbria, about 1891 (#02159). The window, which was composed of three lights, was executed by the stained glass manufacturers Campbell and Smith of Newman Street, Oxford Street. It was dedicated on 1 March 1892 and blessed by the Bishop of Carlisle. The central light showed an angel with a child, with the inscription below: 'To the Glory of God In memory of Jane Mary Wilson Holme Town View Kendal Born 1st March 1872 Died 14th May 1880: REV 12: 5 Her child was caught up unto God Ps 111: 11 & 12 He shall give his angels charge over thee. They shall bear thee up in their hands. Dedicated by her mother.' Holme wrote to Beatrix: 'The shading is exquisite and the faces so soft and lovely when the sun is shining it is something to remember' (#02160). JW referred to it rather irreverently as the 'Widdys windy' (#06595).

Bibliography:

Westmoreland Gazette, 5 March 1892; MacDonald, Margaret F., Beatrice Whistler Artist and Designer, Glasgow, 1997.