A WORLD famous carving dating from the fifteenth century has been moved into place beneath a newly completed commemorative window in St Mary’s Priory Church, Abergavenny.

The Jesse Effigy is a larger-than-life figure which once formed the base of an intricate and elaborate ‘Family tree’ construction depicting the lineage of Jesus Christ - a direct descendant of Jesse, father of King David.

The installation is dedicated to the memory of the late Dean Jeremy Winston who served as vicar of the church for eighteen years and is fondly remembered.

So-called ‘Jesse figures’ and ‘Jesse trees’ are not uncommon in stone and stained glass, but the Abergavenny example is the only wooden one in the UK – and possibly the world.

It was carved from a single piece of oak around the time Columbus was heading out into the undiscovered world beyond the Atlantic and would originally have been around 9 - 10 metres tall.

It is 15 months since the window was dedicated in the presence of The Prince Wales and on Tuesday the Bishop of Monmouth will return to the Priory to dedicate the completed work.

Both the window and the new plinth for the Jesse effigy were designed and created by former pupils of the Prince’s School of Traditional Art. The Prince is also patron of St Mary’s Priory.

Canon Mark Soady the Vicar at St Mary’s Priory commented, ‘It is very exciting to see the end in sight of this impressive project in memory of my predecessor’.