‘Then, when I was looking round the church, someone showed me this stained-glass John the Baptist window, where he’s holding a lamb. And so, I thought the idea of him holding the Lamb of God out over the town, and looking down on them at the same time, could be quite impressive.’
Impressive, yes, and also hugely appropriate, with Cirencester’s importance as a wool town.
Then, as serendipity would have it, we need to decamp from the church as Midday Prayer begins, and go to the nearby Fleece. On the short walk, I consider Rodney’s depiction of John, and have to agree; the symbolism of the humility of John offering up the Lamb of God to the people of Cirencester, and the important link with the town’s wool trade, gives the sculpture added resonance.