Birmingham Cathedral is home to four stunning stained-glass windows – considered among the finest in the world. The windows were created by the famous Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones and his lifelong friend William Morris. They depict four significant events from the life of Christ, and continue to inspire and guide worshippers to this day.
About the windows
The first window to be installed was The Ascension, in 1885. This was originally meant to be the only stained-glass window in the building. This was followed by The Nativity and The Crucifixion windows on either side two years later in 1887. The Last Judgement was the final window to be created for the west end of the church in 1897.
The windows are set into rectangular metal frames, allowing the sun to shine through the windows. Vibrant colours are cast across the floor and the walls of the cathedral throughout the day.
The windows were cleaned, repaired and conserved in 2023 as part of the Divine Beauty Project – ensuring they remain as one of the city’s greatest treasures, to be enjoyed by future generations.
Below you can find out more about the window’s history, their creators, the scenes they depict, and the work undertaken to ensure they are maintained for many more years to come.
“The windows provide me with a feeling of awe, belonging, and provide four reminders of my faith. The cathedral’s side windows allow the Burne-Jones and William Morris stained glass to project into the whole building, thereby carrying four straightforward Christian stories to everyone. “
Joe – Volunteer
Audio track – a history of the windows
Read the transcript
By the late 1800s, Birmingham had become a rich and important city through the success of the Industrial Revolution. The three stained glass windows at the east end of the cathedral were completed in 1887, as part of a ten-year project to extend the church and build a new chancel. They were designed by the Birmingham born Pre-Raphaelite artist, Edward Burne-Jones, and manufactured by William Morris and his craftsmen – a key figure of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Initially, the commission was for a single stained-glass window, representing the Ascension, for the central opening. It was installed in 1885. When Burne-Jones saw the window in situ for the first time two years later, he was so overcome with the emotional impact of the finished window, that he suggested designing two further windows to fill the spaces on either side. After discussion between artist, architect, funder, Rector and manufacturer, it was agreed that the two further windows should represent the ‘Nativity of Christ’ and the ‘Crucifixion of Christ’. Burne-Jones aspired to create artworks that enhance ordinary people’s ability to connect with Christian faith.
The strong views of the benefactor Emma Villers Wilkes, who provided the finance for the project, were influential in the design of the two side windows. She was a devout High Church Anglican who regularly attended services at St. Philip’s, and the donated funds were in memory of her brother. She insisted that the traditional representation of oxen in Nativity scenes was un-Biblical, and that the Crucifixion should not be blooded and gory, as was often the case in medieval scenes. Burne-Jones’s slender, beautiful elongated figures echo medieval images observed on the façades of the French cathedrals such as Chartres, which he had visited as a young man.
A fourth commission was provided in 1898 to fill the west window with ‘The Last Judgement’ as a memorial to Rector, Henry Bowlby who had died in 1894. It is considered to be Burne-Jones’ greatest masterpiece, though he never saw the finished window as he died in the year it was installed. The design, manufacture, and installation of the windows took thirteen years and produced some of the largest and most spectacular pieces of Pre-Raphaelite art in the world.
From the outside, the east-end windows are the same height as the other plain glass windows in the cathedral, but inside they are shorter. This is because there are steps leading up to the sanctuary level. Consequently, the lower parts of all three windows can only be seen from outside. Before their conservation, panels of glass fragments were in place under the Ascension window and square green and yellow panes of ‘pub glass’ under the other two. These ‘bit box’ glass panels were common in churches during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Experts have suggested that these particular panels were added when the windows were put back in place after World War II, probably by the local firm of Hardman & Co. – who made the plain lead windows around the rest of the building.
The commissioning of the windows
Initially, the commission was for a single stained-glass window, representing the Ascension, for the central opening. It was in place in 1885. It was only two years later that Burne-Jones saw, for the first time, the Ascension window in situ. He was so overcome with the emotional impact of the finished window as he stood in front of it that he at once suggested designing two further windows to fill the spaces on either side. After discussion between artist, architect, funder, Rector and manufacturer, it was agreed that the two further windows should represent the ‘Nativity of Christ’ and the ‘Crucifixion of Christ’. Burne Jones aspired to create artworks that enhance ordinary people’s ability to connect with Christ. He had stated that he wanted to create large works for vast spaces, his constant adage being ‘by the people for the people’.
A fourth commission was provided in 1898 to fill the west window with ‘The Last Judgement’ as a memorial to Rector, Henry Bowlby who had died in 1894. It is considered to be Burne-Jones’ masterpiece, though sadly he never saw the finished window as he died in the year it was installed.
Burne-Jones’ slender, beautiful elongated figures echo medieval images observed on the facades of the French cathedrals such as Chartres, which he had visited as a young man. Many of the colours are symbolic and are influenced by Byzantine iconography. Christ’s robes are red when he is depicted moving from Earth to Heaven (as in the Ascension window) and white when he is depicted in Heaven or coming down to Earth.
Finance and influence
The strong views of the benefactor Emma Villers Wilkes, who provided the finance for the project, were influential in the design of the two side windows. She was a devout High Church Anglican who regularly attended services at St. Philip’s, and the donated funds were in memory of her brother. She insisted that the traditional representation of oxen in Nativity scenes was un-Biblical, and that the Crucifixion should not be blooded and gory, as was often the case in medieval scenes.
Bold colours and patterns
Morris had been experimenting with colour, in close collaboration with Burne-Jones, using the technological advances of the age, special colours and a larger colour palette; for instance the rich pink of some of the robes is unusual.
These colours have not faded over the years. The detailed features of the windows were painted on with ground glass, stabilised with oil and water and re-fired, bonding them into the structure of the glass, which has prevented fading over the passage of time. During the recent restoration project, the conservators noted the good condition of the detailing and colour of the panes, indicating a high level of craftsmanship in the creation of the windows.
Particularly interesting, and delightful, are the William Morris textile designs that pop up unexpectedly: Jesus’s loincloth in The Crucifixion window is more or less exactly Morris’s famous Willow Boughs design. Mary in The Nativity window wears a beautiful robe of sinuously entwined flowers and leaves peeping from under her blue mantle. St Peter in The Ascension has acanthus leaves on his robe and lovely daisies on his cloak.
Some of the details of the superb craftsmanship are only apparent in close-up: for example, the feet of the Apostles, complete with individual toenails in The Ascension window, or the wonderful leggings and chain-mail bindings of the centurion on the far right of The Crucifixion window.
Explore the windows
The Nativity window
The Crucifixion window
The Ascension window
The Last Judgement window
Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris
