Church Of St Peter And St Paul

The window commemorates the life of Captain Robert Charles Todhunter (1903-1999) and his wife Patricia Estelle, née Lemprière, (1909-1986). The window was designed to complement the Gothic style of the Grade 2* Listed Building and the colouration of the existing stained glass windows (particularly that of Sir Edward Burne-Jones), and to allow plenty of light to permeate through.

The symbolic design is intended to represent an apple tree, the Tree of Jesse and a Christmas tree.The apple tree held a special place in the affections of Patricia Todhunter.During the Second World War, in the event of her death, she requested that her husband “plant an apple tree for me, just an ordinary apple tree – it is the blossom I love.”In the background, pervading the window, is this apple blossom which, in Chinese culture (with which the Todhunters were familiar), is a traditional symbol of peace and beauty.The distribution on the wind of the blossom can be regarded as an analogy with the dispersion of the Todhunter family - five children, and many grand and great grandchildren spread around the world.

Within Christian orthodoxy, the apple tree has traditionally represented the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, and suggests Christian concepts of bridehood, marriage and fertility. This distinction between the temporal and the eternal is also recognised in the anonymous hymn, Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, the first stanza of which declaims:

The tree of life my soul hath seen,

Laden with fruit and always green,

The trees of Nature fruitless be

Compared with Christ the apple tree.

which is inscribed in the glass along the bottom of the three windows, together with the dedication “To the Glory of God and Remember Robin and Patricia Todhunter”.

The Tree of Jesse represents the familial line of descent of Jesus Christ from King David’s father, Jesse:And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit(Isaiah 11.1).It is a familiar subject of medieval stained glass, the twelve branches symbolising the twelve tribes of Israel.The branches and leaves all face outward and upward, the blue leaves reflecting the sky.As a sign representing the coming of Jesus, the Jesse Tree is a common symbol for the Christian season of Advent.Likewise, the Christmas tree also embodies Advent, the birth of Christ, and seasonal regeneration.

The tree trunk is rooted in moving water around land upon which lies more fallen seed, referring again to the distribution of the Todhunter family. The running fox in the bottom right hand corner is the crest of the Todhunter family, originally professional foxhunters in Cumbria.

The upward movement from the green of the tree, through the gold-pink of the apple blossom into the orange/red at the extremes suggests the heavenward movement of souls, and the white leaf shapes now suggest the feathers of angels. Like a full-turning circle, the orange/red borders now relate back to the red colours in the Burne-Jones and altar windows.

"I get constant pleasure from this window; the way the pink of the apple blossom comes and goes, providing varying degrees of translucency, the way the sun, shining through, colours the walls and pillars of the church, the textures of the leaves, the way it shines like a jewel as one approaches the church in winter darkness (I asked that lights should be provided to shine on the window for this purpose, when we had our new lighting installed), and so on. I take great pleasure in explaining it to visitors, and I think that we are very lucky to have such a splendid piece of contemporary work in the church."

Charles Thompson, Organist

Commissioner: The Family of Robert and Patricia Todhunter

Address: Church Hill, Nutfield, Surrey

Dimensions: 700 x 1500 x 3 (3.15m2)