The Lantern Window above the Font in the Sheffield Cathedral was always one of my least favourite features of the building but I've just been reading about it and now see it in a different light (no pun intended). I'm actually starting to quite like it now I know a bit more about it!

Here's what it says:

"For years Sheffield Cathedral was regarded as a gloomy place in need of natural light. In the 1960’s large clear windows were introduced into the extended west end. It was crowned with a lantern window.

"Natural light now streams in through a wooden representation of the Crown of Thorns, reminding us of the suffering of Christ. The glass was designed by Amber Hiscott in 1998. It is an abstract interpretation of Resurrection and the Holy Spirit (golds and reds) transforming human conflict and struggle (blues and violets) andleading to healing and growth (greens).

"When you come into the Cathedral you are greeted by a blaze of colour above your head, something beautiful to bid you welcome and lift the spirit; for this is the gate of heaven, a place where you are drawn onwards and upwards into the richly coloured way of being which God wants us to enjoy. A lantern is there to light things up.

"The glass is designed to symbolise baptism, dying to the old life and rising to the new. Stained glass can be very solemn, and some of it is in this very Cathedral. But there is something playful about the lantern glass, something happy and childlike and filled with laughter.

"The lantern, with its lively, playful colours, suggests the joyous pilgrim pathway to God."

What do you think?

that's fascinating reading, Hitchhiker. I thought the lantern window was older than that, I remember it being taken down for safety reasons in what must have been the mid eighties, and some mesh covering the sculpted stone within the window.

I like the colours, and the way they play, thanks to the sunlight, on the font and the floor, but find it a little stark, compared to the more decorative, ornate glasswork in the older parts of the Cathedral.

My particular favourite window is the large window over the Chapel Of The Holy Spirit.

that's fascinating reading, Hitchhiker. I thought the lantern window was older than that, I remember it being taken down for safety reasons in what must have been the mid eighties, and some mesh covering the sculpted stone within the window.

I like the colours, and the way they play, thanks to the sunlight, on the font and the floor, but find it a little stark, compared to the more decorative, ornate glasswork in the older parts of the Cathedral.

My particular favourite window is the large window over the Chapel Of The Holy Spirit.

I can't say I've spent much time looking at it - here is what I have about it:

"The great Te Deum window by Christopher Webb is a memorial to Father Ommaney who worked for over fifty years in the neighbouring parish of Sheffield St Matthew. Its tracery is reminiscent of flames. At the apex of the window is the Dove, the Spirit of God brooding over creation, shown as light and darkness, waters and land, living creatures, man and woman. Light streams over the central figure of Christ in glory, surrounded by prophets, martyrs and the blessed company of all faithful people through the ages. The scrolls held by the angelic figures remind us of the magnificent words of the ancient song of praise, the Te Deum."