St Francis Window Selborne

The stained glass window in St Mary’s church Selborne was installed in 1920, as a memorial to Gilbert White the naturalist, author and one time curate to the church at the end of C18th.
St Francis is preaching to the birds, all of whom where somewhere mentioned in Gilbert White’s writings. In the background can be seen various aspects of the village, the great yew, which very sadly came down in a storm in 1990, having stood sentinel over the church since it was built 800 years ago. The vicarage in which Gilbert was born, his father being a previous vicar of the church and the church itself.

The window itself compliments a later window dedicated to White and the whole creates a wonderfully evocative feel to this special part of Hampshire’s History.