Stained Glass Window and 2 plaques N.F. Indian Mutiny 1857-9 St. Nicholas

Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas Square. St. Nicholas Street / Mosley Street.

Indian Mutiny 1857-9

Completed December 1865

Stained glass window and 2 brass plaques

Wailes

On window :
In memory of the comrades who perished during the Indian Mutiny 1857

On left hand plaque :
To the Glory of God & in memory of their under-mentioned comrades who perished during the Indian Mutiny of 1857-9
This window is erected by the Officers non-commissioned officers & men of the Fifth or Northumberland Fusiliers.
Also in memory of Assistt-Surgeon Cameron 1 Serjeant-Major 13 Serjeants 2 Drummers and 209 rank & file
who died during the subsequent service of the Regiment in India which it left early in 1861.

On right hand plaque:
In memory of the following Officers 1st Batt. 5th Northumberland Fusiliers
(Names)
Also of 322 Non-Commissioned Officers & Men 17 Women and 79 children of the Battalion
who died in India or Afghanistan between 1866 and 1881.

Stained glass window of three lights.

The centre panel depicts St. George slaying the dragon, with the badge of the Northumberland Fusiliers below st nicholas”

The dedication is carried across the bottom of all three lights, using Gothic lettering throughout.

In the lights above are the battle honours of the regiment.

Beneath this is are two brass plaques on wood pattress 20 inches high x 54 inches wide (51cms x 137cms) with trefoil-shaped embellishments at corners and centre top and bottom.

The dedication is in large elaborate letters with capital letters enamelled in red, the rest in black.

The names on the left hand plaque are listed in thirteen columns.

Those on the right hand plaque are listed in three columns.

1. “About the centre of the north wall of the nave is a window of three lights, by Wailes, erected in memory of the officers and men of the 5th Northumberland Fusiliers, who fell during the mutiny in India.
The principal central subject is St Michael (?) slaying the Dragon, which is also the badge of the regiment. This latter is displayed in the panel below surrounded by the Garter bearing a wreath inscribed with Corunna, Vimiera, Toulouse, Nivelle, Vittoria, Salamanca, Badajoz, Ciudad Rodrigo, Roleia Bujaco, Othes, Peninsula, Wilhelmstal, Lucknow.
In the side lights the figures of John the Baptist preaching to soldiers, and the angel appearing to Cornelius. Under each of these is a subordinate group in the base of the canopy work, namely,
(1st) The song of Moses and Miriam after the overthrow of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, with the text, “Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously The horse nd his rider hath he thrown into the sea”.
(2nd) The lament of David at the death of Saul and Jonathan: “How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! How are the mighty fallen and the weapons of war perished!”
All the subjects are surmounted by foliage canopies into which are worked fac-similes of the two flags which stained, faded, and pierced with shot, are suspended from brackets at each side of the window.
The inscription on the glass is “In memory of their comrades who perished during the Indian Mutiny of 185-8-9.”
And on a brass plate below is engraved the following:- “To the glory of God, and in memory of their undermentioned comrades who perished during the Indian Mutiny of 1857-9, this window is erected by the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the Fifth or Northumberland Fusiliers”.
(Here are inserted the names of 6 officers, 10 non-commissioned officers, and 121 privates.)
Also in memory of Assistant Surgeon Camern, 1 Sergeant-Major, 13 Sergeants, 2 drummers and 209 rank and file, who died during the subsequent service of the Regiment in India, which it left early in 1861”. Richard Welford.

2. Above the window and plaques are two flags from the Indian Mutiny, said to be so heavy it took two men to hold them aloft. They have been laid up in perpetuity.

3. The St. George’s Gazette reports a Memorial Fund established by the Regiment which was handed over to be administered by the Newcastle Diocesan Society. The income from the fund was to be spent on ‘cleaning the Memorial Brasses erected in the said Cathedral Church, to the memory of the Officers and Privates of the 5th (Northumberland) Fusiliers, and to the memory of the late Colonel Philip Fitz Roy, and to supply wreaths of red and white roses to be placed on the old Colours of the said Fifth (Northumberland) Fusiliers, at present in the said Cathedral Church, upon the 23rd day of April (St. George’s Day) in every year’.

Photos: Janet Brown; Tony Harding

Newcastle Daily Chronicle
06/12/1865 gives a detailed description of the window

A descriptive and historical account of the monuments and tombstones in the church of St Nicholas, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Welford, Richard. Hamilton, Adams & Co., 1880. pages 10-11.

St. George’s Gazette
Vol.XIII, 1895, page 164, Nov 30th gives details of the fund in Note 3 above.

Philip Thirkell;
Tony Harding;
Janet Brown;
Patrick Easen

If you are researching this memorial please contact 2014@newmp.org.uk