The second window depicts John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual who served as a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under its Council of State and later under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval, and is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), written in blank verse, and widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever written. Writing in English, Latin, Greek, and Italian, he achieved international renown within his lifetime; his celebrated Areopagitica (1644), written in condemnation of pre-publication censorship, is among history’s most influential and impassioned defences of freedom of speech and freedom of the press
and John Wesley (28 June 1703 – 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, theologian and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. 1726 and ordained as an Anglican priest two years later. He led the “Holy Club”, a society formed for the purpose of the study and the pursuit of a devout Christian life; it had been founded by his brother, Charles. On 24 May 1738, he experienced what has come to be called his evangelical conversion, when he felt his “heart strangely warmed” A key step in the development of Wesley’s ministry was, to travel and preach outdoors. Moving across Great Britain and Ireland, he helped form and organize small Christian groups that developed intensive and personal accountability, discipleship and religious instruction. He appointed itinerant, unordained evangelists to care for these groups of people. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Methodist movement that continues to this day. Under Wesley’s direction, Methodists became leaders in many social issues of the day, including prison reform and the abolition of slavery.
The window is dedicated to the memory of ANNE MARIA ELIZABETH DEACON. The mother of Maurice Deacon, industrialist, mine owner and one time owner of Sheepbridge Engineering Works. The small centre light depicts a true likeness of Mrs DEACON taken from a contemporary photograph.