The Bragg family windows were commissioned with the intention of bringing the town’s heritage into the church and they depict some of its most loved and historic landmarks. Lord Bragg and the congregation are all pleased with the results, which have been described by Canon Geoffrey Ravalde as spectacular.
Lord Bragg, a former St Mary’s choirboy, has spent most of his adult life away from his home town.
But he still has a deep connection to his roots and Wigton has provided the setting for several of his books.
He told The Cumberland News: “I love the town and seem to be bound to it.”
The original plan was for just one window. But another two were added as the designs developed and seemingly cried out for more space.
Lord Bragg was also encouraged to extend his generosity by a friend of his late father, who implored him to “dig deep Melvyn, dig deep”.
The Bragg family are long-standing members of the congregation and because the project was so personal, Lord Bragg did more than just sign the cheque to pay for it.
The former controller of arts at London Weekend Television, who was educated at Nelson Thomlinson School in Wigton and then Oxford University, gave a very specific brief to the man who designed the windows, local artist and friend Brian Campbell. And he was involved in discussions at every stage along the way to the installation.
Lord Bragg added: “It was an old-fashioned commission, I didn’t say; ‘do what you want’. I was very detailed, then Brian added his own designs and perspective and he did it extremely well.”
Stained-glass artist Alex Haynes, of Albion Glass in Brampton, then turned Mr Campbell’s sketches into reality. Lord Bragg said: “He put plain glass around the shields so you can see Wigton twice, which I think is brilliant.”
The windows were blessed by Canon Geoffrey Ravalde during a dedication ceremony at St Mary’s on Sunday, which Lord Bragg attended.
Canon Ravalde is both grateful and impressed with the addition to his church.
He said: “The scale and vision of this is extremely rare and the reaction has been spectacular.
“Everyone who has seen the windows has been amazed by the colour, detail and artistry.”
By Steph Johnson
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