The Main West Window, 1932 (Randall Memorial)
Leonard Randall has already been mentioned as the donor of two earlier windows at the west end of the church. He died in 1932, leaving a large sum to St. Paul`s, including £400 for a window in the new Baptistry, which had been built into the West End of the Church in 1929. The window was made, like the previous ones, by Morris & Company, from a design by Burne-Jones, and was dedicated on 18th December 1932.*
It depicts a well-known scene from the Gospels, where women were bringing their children to Jesus and He was blessing them. The text below (Luke 18.16) reads:- ‘Suffer little children to come unto Me.’
It`s a very suitable design for the window above the font: making this Gospel story present at every infant Baptism. Above the figure of Christ, there is a Dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit, who was seen in this form at our Lord`s own Baptism. The figures at each end are two Archangels: Michael (left) and Raphael (right). They appear here in their role as our defenders – Jesus Himself spoke of children having Guardian Angels. These two are especially important in this respect: Michael is the Captain of the Heavenly Host, fighting with us in the war against evil (see Revelation 12); while Raphael was the one who travelled in disguise with young Tobias, and protected him from harm (from the Book of Tobit).
The inscription reads: “To the glory of God and in memory of Leonard Randall formerly of this parish who died on the 11th February 1932. This window is erected by his nephew Victor Horace Randall and his friends William Tyler Benson and William Henry Kemball Forbes.”