A Selection Of The Top English Church Stained Glass Windows

  • The origins of stained glass windows probably came from jewellery making, and mosaics, when substantial church building began in the 11th century, when decorative designs depicting Christ and biblical scenes were starting to be found in French, German and English churches.
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Below you can see some of the finest examples of the art:

1. St Mary’s Church, Fairford, Glos, UK

 

The East Window in St Mary’s church, Fairford. It depicts the Crucifixion of Christ.

  • The Church of England parish church of St Mary in Fairford, Glos, is renowned for its complete set of medieval stained glass. The church is a English Heritage Grade 1 listed building due to its windows, and the fact that its structure and details remain unaltered since they were originally made.

The Great West Window – The Last Judgement

 

Close up of the Last Judgement window - Christ with Mary and John The Baptist

 

The Devil

 

  • Although there has been a church at Fairford since at least 1125, little of this early building now remain, having been incorporated into the magnificent church of St Mary the Virgin that we see today.
  • The rebuilding of the church was started by John Tame in the early 1490s after been given permission by the Bishop of Worcester to dismantle the existing church.
  • As Tame’s fortune was acquired through the wool and cloth industry, St Mary’s can be counted as among a number of so-called ‘wool’ churches built in the Cotswolds in the medieval period.
  • Although structurally complete, the church was still far from finished at this point and at the death of John Tame in 1500 his son Edmund Tame undertook to complete the work.
  • At about this time work commenced on the production of 28 stained and painted glass windows that would make up a stunning visual account of the Bible story from Adam and Eve through to the Last Judgement and would provide instruction as well as illumination, in both senses of the word.
  • The story that these windows tell also reveals the central role of the Virgin Mary to pre-Reformation English liturgy. Fairford’s windows remain the most complete set of medieval church windows in the country and are therefore of national importance.

2. The windows of York Minster Cathedral

 

West window of York Minster

  • Above is the Great West Window built between 1330-1338. Magnificent in itself, it was surpassed 70 years later with the completion of the Great East Window 486 feet away at the opposite end of the Minster.
  • The window uses four rows of eight figures to link the church leaders to the New Testament. At bottom are 8 York bishops, above them are 8 of the apostles. Above that are pairs of windows depicting the annunciation, nativity, resurrection, and ascension into heaven of Jesus. Above that is a scene showing Mary being crowned queen of heaven.
  • Situated in the heart of the city, York Minster is the largest Gothic Cathedral in northern Europe. As is the way with many Christian buildings, it was built in the shape of a cross, and faces East, towards Jerusalem. The name "Minster" is derived from the Latin Monastarium, which means "Place of Learning".
  • York as a whole and particularly the Minster have a long and rich tradition of creating beautiful stained glass. Some of the stained glass in York Minster dates back to the mid-twelfth century. The 76-foot (23 m) tall Great East Window, created by John Thornton in the early fifteenth century, is the largest example of medieval stained glass in the world.
  • Other spectacular windows in the Minster include an ornate rose window and the 50-foot (15 m) tall five sisters window. Because of the extended time periods during which the glass was installed, different types of glazing and painting techniques that evolved over hundreds of years are visible in the different windows.
  • Approximately 2 million individual pieces of glass make up the cathedral's 128 stained glass windows. Much of the glass was removed before and pieced back together after the First and Second World Wars, and the windows are constantly being cleaned and restored to keep their beauty intact.

Stained glass window depicting King Solomon

 

The Jesse Window at York Minster

  • The Nave's south aisle wall contains a common medieval stained glass theme: The Jesse tree, first seen in windows at the Saint-Denis Basilica north of Paris where the French Gothic movement started.
  • While York's window (created 1310-1320) shares much of the iconic visuals of other Jesse Tree depictions, it has several unique characteristics: For one thing, the depiction of the vine is quite naturalistic and the vine encircles the "edge" figures in the side panels (Moses and the prophets).
  • Also, Mary's position, size, and colour are quite emphatic. Note the blue figure second from the top in the centre panel below. Jesse, himself, lies at the bottom swathed in red.

Chapter House at York Minster

  • Most of these magnificent windows are restorations of 13th and 14th century. Half of the medieval glass that survives in England is found in York's Minster, but nowhere else in this church does it seem so close to the viewer as in this small space.

3. Canterbury Cathedral

  • Canterbury Cathedral is one of the oldest Christian churches in England and it continues to play a central role in English Christianity. Originally founded in 602 AD by St. Augustine, it still functions as the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
  • Canterbury was an important spiritual center ever since Augustine, but it became a major pilgrimage destination after the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket in 1170 (familiar to most as the subject of Geoffrey Chaucer's humorous Canterbury Tales).
  • The grandeur of the architecture reflects Canterbury's historic and religious importance, as does the magnificent collection of medieval stained glass windows depicting miracles experienced at Thomas' shrine, biblical scenes, prophets and saints, as you can see below.

Adam in the Garden of Eden

 

An angel warns the cozily sleeping Magi not to return to Herod in the Second Typological Window (c.1180 AD)

  • The medieval stained glass windows in Canterbury Cathedral are among the earliest and finest in Europe. The oldest window, a charming depiction of Adam digging with a spade (seen above), dates from about 1180 AD, and more continued to be added throughout the Middle Ages.
  • Thanks to a thorough program of cleaning and restoration in recent years, many of these windows are more beautiful now than they have been for centuries.
  • No one visits Canterbury Cathedral without gazing at this great gallery of medieval art and no education is needed to appreciate its beauty and historical significance.
  • Most of the subjects depicted in the windows, however, can be quite mysterious, and some of them are so high as to be difficult to see.
  • Getting a closer look at the details and knowing what is being depicted brings an even greater depth of enjoyment and appreciation of the magnificent stained glass

Ancestors of Christ (c.1180-1200)

Lively and fascinating portraits of 43 ancestors of Christ originally displayed in the clerestory are now in the west and south windows

 

Redemption Window c.1200-07

Another typological window with four Old Testament types for each of five scenes related to the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.

4. Coventry Cathedral

The Baptistry Window at Coventry Cathedral

  • No picture or web site can ever describe adequately the experience of suddenly leaving the old ruins and entering the new Cathedral. It is something you have to live through yourself
  • This baptistery window is one of the most impressive in England. This is the architectural introduction to the Cathedral as baptism is the introduction into the Church.
  • The stained-glass window was designed by John Piper and created by Patrick Reyntiens and has a total of 195 panels. At the foot of the stained-lass window is the baptismal font (not visible in the picture). It is actually made of a huge rock brought over from the Holy Land not far from Bethlehem.
  • One can quite easily understand the symbolic value of combining the vivid brightness of the golden centre of the window and the baptismal font.
  • The brilliant, golden, sun-like centre surrounded by the darker-coloured panes is symbolic of the essential value of baptism itself which lifts the newly baptised from the powers of darkness and incorporates him into the brilliant glory of Christ, the sun of righteousness.
  • We have gone through an experience akin to this as we passed from the ruins of the old Cathedral into the newness of life of the modern building. An impressive architectural and spiritual experience all in one.

A close up of the Baptistry window

 

The nave windows at Coventry Cathedral masterminded by Lawrence Lee

  • The late master stained-glass artist Lawrence Lee, was part of the remarkable generation of British artists that dominated a large part of the 20th century, and included Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland, John Piper and Ceri Richards.
  • His most illustrious achievement was masterminding the 10 nave windows in the new Coventry Cathedral, designed by Sir Basil Spence in the early 1950s to stand next to the remains of the old cathedral, which had been destroyed in a second world war bombing raid.

The Roadway to Heaven which starts from the Chapel of Unity in Coventry Cathedral.

 

5. Lincoln Cathedral, Minster Yard, Lincoln

  • Lincoln Cathedral, or Lincoln Minster as it is also known, dates from 1072 when William the Conqueror instructed that the bishopric of this, then the largest diocese in England (covering the lands between the river Thames and the Humber), be moved from Dorchester, near Oxford, to Lincoln, where he had already established a castle in the old Roman upper city.
  • The first Norman Bishop of Lincoln, Remigius had previously been a Benedictine monk, and a loyal supporter of William at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The cathedral was finally consecrated in 1092. It has dominated the skyline of Lincoln since then and is a prominent landmark from many parts of Lincolnshire.

Lincoln Annex

 

Adam and Eve toiling

  • This panel, now in the north transept rose window at Lincoln Cathedral, is a stunning example of early 13th-century glass-painting, and evokes the curse of labour inflicted upon the first man and woman, as described in the Old Testament book of Genesis.
  • The medallion shows Adam digging the soil with a spade and Eve spinning with a distaff. As with much stained glass from this period, blue and ruby are the predominant colours. White glass has been used minimally but to great effect in highlighting concentrated areas of colour.
  • Adam, to the left, is bare-chested and holds a long spade on which his left foot rests as he digs the ground. A hind leg can be seen dangling from an animal skin around his waist. To the right is Eve; she wears a cloth to cover the lower half of her body and sits on a green mound spinning with a distaff in her left hand.
  • The medieval glass-painter has emphasised the humanity of the first man and woman by accentuating Adam’s sternum, arm sinews and leg muscles, and Eve’s ribcage, muscles and breasts. In between Adam and Eve stands a tall limbed figure formed of composite pieces of white glass. The identity of this figure has been much discussed.
  • Charles Winston and Philip Nelson believed the figure to be an angel, while Christopher Woodforde thought it might be an image of God. Jean Lafond suggested that it might show Cain tilling the ground alongside his father. Nigel Morgan, however, demonstrated that the figure was almost certainly intended to represent an angel and that the outline of an angel’s wings can be seen in the lead lines.

Lincoln Cathedral West Window

 

After his crucifixion, the risen Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene, one of the stained glass windows on the north side of the nave.

  • "Thank you for all your hard work. Very best wishes from Paul and the residents of Five Arches."

    Mr Paul Lander, Five Arches, Orton Wistow

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