IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Church Street, OLNEY, MK46 4AD

With the spire of St. Peter & St. Paul rising in the background.

The view from the outside of Image

The fourteenth century church of St Peter and St Paul stands on the bank of the River Great Ouse and its majestic spire dominates the southern approach to the town of Olney. Most of the present church was built in the fourteenth century between 1330 and 1400, in the ‘Decorated Gothic’ style which was then in vogue. The finest feature of the church is the spire, which is unusual for Buckinghamshire. Set on a tall tower, it reaches a height of 185 feet (http://olney.church/history-church-building/ Olney Church). The church is a Grade I listed building (Historic England List Entry Number: 1125308 https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1125308 ).

The lower part of a larger window showing John Newton and William Cowper. Between them is a depiction of the church and the first line of two hymns; 'How sweet the name of Jesus sounds' and 'God moves in a mysterious way', both of which appear in Olney Hymns http://www.churchsociety.org/churchman/documents/Cman_069_3_Pollard.pdf .

This window at the east end of the north aisle was installed in the late 1940s as a thanksgiving for the safe return of war veterans. The glazier was George Cooper Abbs, who depicts John Newton (lower left, between shackled and liberated slaves), William Cowper with his three pet hares at lower right, and the church musician Henry John Gauntlett in prayer. The parish's patron saints, Peter with his keys and Paul with the sword of his martyrdom, stand above the Olney hymnographers, with the church between them, surmounted by Christ in majesty holding orb and sceptre. For a detailed close-up of the lower panel see Robin Drayton's photo Image

John Newton was a slave trader who eventually became opposed to slavery and influenced William Wilberforce. http://www.churchsociety.org/crossway/documents/Cway_044_Streater.pdf

The fourteenth century church stands on the bank of the River Great Ouse and its majestic spire dominates the southern approach to the town of Olney. Most of the present church was built in the fourteenth century between 1330 and 1400, in the ‘Decorated Gothic’ style which was then in vogue. The finest feature of the church is the spire, which is unusual for Buckinghamshire. Set on a tall tower, it reaches a height of 185 feet (http://olney.church/history-church-building/ Olney Church). The church is a Grade I listed building (Historic England List Entry Number: 1125308 https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1125308 ).