The West Window
The large window over the West door is a memorial
to the Revd Henry Tuckwell, Vicar 1865-1881. It
was dedicated on All Saints Day 1886. The
illustrations portray the ministry of angels. There are
three scenes in each of the four lights and all except
one are from the Old Testament. These are
described below.
In the bottom row (left to right): God creates Eve
from Adam's rib (Genesis ch.2); Adam and Eve are
expelled from the garden of Eden (Genesis ch.3);
Abraham with the angels, who tell him that his wife
Sarah will have a son (Genesis ch.l8); Jacob dreams
of a ladder from earth to heaven, with angels
ascending and descending (Genesis ch.28).
In the centre row: Balaam's donkey is stopped by an
angel (Numbers ch.22); God commands King David
to build an altar (2 Samuel ch.24); the prophet Elijah, resting under a juniper tree in
the desert, is told by an angel to eat and drink (1 Kings ch.19); the prophet Elisha
and his servant, surrounded by the Syrian army (2 Kings ch.6).
In the top row: the angel of God destroys the army of Sennacherib, King of Assyria
(2 Kings ch.19); the prophet Isaiah sees in a vision an angel bringing an ember from
the altar to purify him (Isaiah ch.6); Daniel is protected from the lions by an angel
(Daniel ch.6); Zacharias is told by the archangel Gabriel that his wife Elizabeth will
bear a son (John the Baptist) (Luke ch.1).
The tracery at the top has three trefoils. The transfiguration in the centre is flanked
by the baptism of Christ and the scene from John
12:28-30.
The Font
Made of alabaster, the font was given to St
Michael's by the children of the congregation. The
four panels show Moses leading the Israelites
through the Red Sea (Exodus ch.l4); Noah and his
family entering the Ark (Genesis ch.7); Philip
baptising the Ethiopian (Acts ch.8); and Jesus
blessing the children (Mark ch.1 0).
Children's Corner
The Children's Corner is at the west end of the south aisle and was set up as a
memorial to F W Elam, Headmaster of St Michael's Day School from 1900 to 1933.
A famous Yorkshire woodcarver, Robert
Thompson of Kilburn (known as 'the
Mouseman'), carried out the work. His 'signature'
was a carved mouse, of which several can be
found here and elsewhere in the church. The
small carved cross commemorates H A Sugden,
Headmaster 1933-1948.
scene, Jesus between St Luke and St Cecilia (who is the patron saint of musicians)
and, below, the Good Samaritan (Luke
ch.10), a figure that may be Caedmon of
Whitby (who can also be seen in the
reredos) and an angel choir.
On the South wall, the window is
dedicated to John Wilkinson of North Hill,
Headingley, who died 14th May 1885. The
upper scene shows the Transfiguration of
Jesus, with Moses and Elijah; Peter, James
and John are below (Matthew ch.17). The
lower scene shows the healing of a
mentally disturbed boy (Matthew ch.17).
Hanging from a pillar near the Children's
corner is a painting of Jesus appearing to Mary on the first Easter Day. This is a
reminder of a tragic event in the parish when one of a series of brutal murders took
place not far from the church. The victim was Jaqueline Hill, a student at Leeds
University. The picture was given in her memory by the artist K M Crossley in
1982.