Chapel of University College, Oxford, Oxfordshire

Oxford is simply jam packed with interesting stained glass from all eras. Some of the most startling, to my mind, is the scheme in the Chapel of University College. It is from a time, I was taught, when stained glass had lost its way. The medieval skills had all but disappeared. Instead of a lead matrix that separated each piece of coloured glass, a grid of clear glass with enamel colours filled the ‘picture’ window with a scene spanning the stone mullions. Often the enamel colours have disintegrated over time, but not here! The vibrant colours and somewhat eccentric depiction of figures and animals is a joy to behold, if a little alarming. Just look at the whale’s eye and the bones strewn across the beach.

There is so much action and storytelling within the windows that they must have provided much entertainment for the scholars for over 350 years.