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Swastikas in Cambridge Churches

By Stephen Taylor

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Published: 26Feb2009
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Here in Cambridge we have some surprises for the visitor. Did you know that there are examples of the Swastika in some of the world-famous Cambridge Churches and Chapels? You will find the Swastika meander on the front elevation of the Old Schools next to the Senate House. There's nothing sinister about this. It is simply an elaboration of the Greek Fret motif that enables the development of the 'Swastika' to appear within the design.

It is found almost world-wide as a decorative motif. It was often found in synagogues, in churches and in mosques from the early days of these religious movements. Other examples may have more symbolic significance. Here in Cambridge we can find examples in the chapel of Westminster College, King's College Chapel and the Round Church. In this article we will be looking mainly at the Round Church.

There are alternative terms we can use for this geometric device popularly known as the Swastika. In stained glass as in heraldry such terms as Gammadion and Fylfot-Cross may be used appropriately. 'Gammadion' is so called because it is thought to have originated from the coming together of 4 capital Greek gammas in classical times, whereas the term 'Fylfot-Cross' [probably meaning 'four-footed'] is usually reserved for that form of the Gammadion that has feet shorter than the cross-arms and used more in heraldic designs.

Many visitors will be surprised to find Fylfot-Crosses here in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Cambridge, locally referred to as the Round Church. However, the Fylfot-Cross or Gammadion is to be found in a wide range of church settings. These devices have been used in both decorative and symbolic contexts; it has been used on fonts, on silver, on Gospel books, on monumental brasses [depicting clergy in mass vestments], on church bells, inscribed in stone, and in stained glass windows. So the examples found here were commissioned long before the rise of any of those nationalistic volkisch German groups that later would give cause for negative feelings generally towards this geometric device. It is fully understandable that there has been very little diminution of this almost universal suspicion, despite the widely held positive attitudes in many cultures East and West.

This church is regarded as one of only a handful of Templar Churches in Britain. It was clearly modelled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and for this reason its link with the Crusades is undeniable. However, there is some doubt that this was a Templar Church on account of its presumed early dating.

Whether or not we can safely attribute the Round Church to the Templars in Cambridge, an example of a Fylfot-Cross on a Templar Church is to be found at St. Michael's Church, Garway, Herefordshire, probably dating from the end of the 12th century or the beginning of the 13th century. A left-facing Fylfot has been incised on one of the stones in the wall of the South Chapel together with a Cross Crosslet - in a position corresponding to that of the piscina inside the chapel, with its congeries of symbolic elements - with identifiable links to the Eucharist.

Now let us look at the Fylfot-Crosses in the Baptism window. The fraternity that built the original Norman structure would almost certainly have been too poor to afford glass, and the first stained glass windows were installed during the 15th century refurbishment. In January 1644, the Suffolk-born official and professional iconoclast William Dowsing smashed most of these windows, and other "superstitious" fixtures that were felt to be too strongly linked to Catholicism. It seems that the windows subsequently remained without coloured glass until the mid-19th century. The stained glass windows currently in the Round Church date to 1841, as part of a restoration project arranged by the Camden Society.

The window with the baptism scene is located immediately to the right of the entrance. In the four corners of the window, to the left and right of the two circles, there are encircled Swastika shapes. Strictly speaking - though the forms are practically interchangeable - these are Fylfot-Crosses rather than Gammadions, as the feet are shorter than the cross-arms and do not fill the square. Sometimes we find these symbols pointing to the right (recto) and sometimes to the left {verso). In heraldry they can be either. These four Fylfots point to the left.

Swastikas in Cambridge Churches. This article may be reprinted free of charge provided that the article remains unchanged, and the author's resource box is included in the reprint.It is 45 years since Stephen Taylor, a retired vicar, was hooked on this fascinating topic. For further information about the Swastikas in Cambridge Churches, click on this link: = http://www.fylfotfile.co.uk

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