Every day in English Tourism Week, we are sharing one of our ‘Top Ten Tourist Treats’ here at Bradford Cathedral.
Today’s treat is our stunning “Women of the Bible” West Window
Bradford Cathedral’s magnificent West Window by Heaton, Butler and Bayne, featuring the designs of Robert Turnill Bayne and Alfred Hassam, is a great favourite of staff and visitors alike.
Whatever the weather and however dull the day, this beautiful Pre-Raphaelite window is always vibrant with colour. Hassam’s striking use of purple, often used in combination with red, is particularly stunning. The window is also noteworthy for the naturalism of the figures, with pairs or groups of figures engaged in conversation, with lifelike poses and gestures. There are also distinctive background details, particularly in the lower right panel, to depict where the water from the well has splashed and foliage has sprung up.
It was commissioned in 1863, to commemorate Catherine and Jane Wells, the two sisters of a Bradford solicitor called William Wells, which is probably why this window almost exclusively features women. There are female figures from the Old and New Testaments in its top two panels and five episodes from the New Testament in its main panels, portraying women experiencing the extraordinary presence or call of God as they go about the ordinary routines of their lives.
The five main panels present: (Top left) Angel Gabriel greeting the Virgin Mary; (Top right) Mary Magdalene being greeted by Jesus, the Risen Christ; (Lower left) Jesus with the sisters, Mary and Martha of Bethany; (Lower right) Jesus speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well; (Centre) The angels telling the women the news that Jesus is risen, on Easter morning.