The famous golden weathervane on the top of St James's belltower has puzzled people down the generations, but now Mark M has discovered an intriguing link with the City of London, just across the river.
The City's coat of arms shows a
This has led to the dragon itself being seen as a symbol of London, and to it being immortalised in a least one City church, namely, St Mary-le-Bow, whose dragon (below) bears more than a passing rememblance to that of St James. Incidentally, it also has two red crosses of St George painted on it, confirming the link with St George and the City coat of arms.
Whether the founders of St James had a link with St Mary-le-Bow or whether they were city businessmen wanting to make a link with the City of London across the river, it looks like that the dragon of St James is a link to the City, and via the City, to St George, and via St George, to the triumph of good over evil and as such it begins to make a bit more sense as a symbol on top of a church.The City's motto itself is instructive: Domine Nos Dirige, or, Lord, Guide Us
Very soon St James's dragon will be coming down to ground level for a few days before it goes off for a bit of refurbishment before being put back in place on a newly repaired tower.
Watch this space to find out when you can come and view the dragon close up and hear BermondseyVicar's sermon on the dragon from the book of Revelation.
Finally, here's a picture of the dragon when it came down for a wash and brush up in 1925.
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