The following text is a lightly adapted version of my article in the recent Winchester History Journal. You can view the journal online: issuu.com/wincollhistory/docs/whj_-_short_half_2022.
Since its foundation, Winchester College has had a unique connection with Luke’s Annunciation story, where the Angel Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary that she will bear a child and that he will be the son of God. The story can be found in many places around the College, notably in François Lemoyne’s altarpiece, dated 1727. Lemoyne, the artist, was a French Catholic, and Winchester was an English Protestant school. It is therefore unusual that such a painting was chosen to feature prominently in its chapel. However, Winchester’s close relationship with the Annunciation story explains in part why there was little controversy at the time.
William of Wykeham decided to dedicate both of his colleges “to the glory of God and the glorious Virgin Mary, His Mother” – he fundamentally connected Winchester College to the Virgin Mary and therefore the Annunciation story. We can see this connection from the foundation in many places. On Middle Gate, there are two similar depictions of the Annunciation, one of which is pictured below. Wykeham himself is the character on the right; he is kneeling in reverence. Both Wykeham’s seal and chantry chapel have similar depictions, although in the latter, the bishop has been replaced by another angel.
In the Jesse window at the east end of the College's Chapel, the Virgin Mary takes centre stage. There is also a small depiction of the Annunciation in the bottom-left panel. Furthermore, the dates of Winchester College’s construction coincide with the Feast of the Annunciation (25 March) for no coincidence: the foundation stone was laid on 26 March, 1387; the doors to the College opened on 28 March, 1394. Wykeham would have viewed the Feast of the Annunciation as importantly as modern Christians view Christmas. He prayed at an altar to the Virgin Mary in Winchester Cathedral every day in his youth, the location of which would become the site of his tomb and chantry chapel. Wykeham’s connection with the Virgin Mary made the College adopt a close relationship with the Annunciation story from the very beginning.
The Annunciation remained important to Winchester long after Wykeham’s death. It is depicted in two other stained-glass windows currently at the College, one in Thurbern’s Chantry (pictured above) and one in Fromond’s. The candelabra currently by the altar in the chapel similarly depict the Annunciation. From the Archives, the pictured initial of a charter, issued by Henry VI to Winchester College in 1443, shows the story. The fact that these depictions span almost the whole history of the College demonstrates that Winchester’s strong connection with the Annunciation story was not merely limited to its foundation but was sustained.
Winchester College was also the site of a famous translation of the Annunciation story into English. John Harmar (c.1555–1613), the Warden of the College, was assigned to lead a small committee to work on some parts of the Bible for the KJV (1611). He led the translation of Luke’s Gospel, including the Annunciation story, from the now Warden Harmar room in the Warden’s Lodgings. His words (significantly edited here for both brevity and clarity) still hold huge significance for many:
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, ‘Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.’ And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, ‘Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.’ And Mary said, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.’ And the angel departed from her.
Dr John Burton, the Headmaster who bought Lemoyne’s altarpiece, was viewed at the time as being a Jacobite sympathiser. He most likely bought the painting in Catholic France: Louis XV was viewed as being poised to invade England. Religious paintings were viewed by Protestants as being controversial, as a distraction from God. Idolising the Virgin Mary was a distraction from the Holy Trinity. Catholic imagery, such as Lemoyne’s picture, was therefore typically rejected by society. Consequently, it is plausible that Burton chose the picture to express his high church, ‘High Tory’ stance; anyone else would not risk such controversy.
Nevertheless, it is primarily because of the undeniable connection between Winchester College and the Annunciation story that Burton’s choice of altarpiece was accepted. Other factors were also important: Winchester being viewed as an institution academic enough not to be susceptible to Catholic ideas and the distance from the court in London to Winchester. The minimisation of the amount of Catholic imagery in the painting — the lack of doves and lily flowers — was also significant. Combined, these factors explain why Burton’s altarpiece was accepted by society, remaining in the College's chapel for 135 years.
Lemoyne’s altarpiece, William of Wykeham’s seal and one of the original medieval statues from Middle Gate can all be seen in the Treasury at Winchester College, open to all from 2-4, daily.
Learn more about Lemoyne's altarpiece in the video below, or in this gallery: godtres.wixsite.com/museum/the-annunciation.
Byford, Mark. The Annunciation: A Pilgrim’s Quest. Winchester University Press, 2018.
Rowell, Christopher. ‘François Lemoyne’s “Annunciation” (1727) Rediscovered at Winchester College’. The Burlington Magazine, vol. 154, no. 1308, 2012, pp. 177–81. JSTOR, jstor.org/stable/23232479.
Comments