Raising the Widow's Son - Hardman Tewkesbury Abbey

This three-light window by Hardman & Co., installed in 1888, illustrates the Raising of the Widow’s Son at Nain (Luke 7:11–17). The composition is laid out sequentially across the lights, using the firm’s characteristic late-Victorian Gothic Revival style, marked by strong contouring, rich colour, and tightly grouped figures.
In the left light, Christ approaches the scene accompanied by two disciples. He raises His hand in a gesture of command and compassion as He halts the funeral procession. The figures behind Him are rendered with Hardman’s typical elongated proportions and crisply defined drapery.
The central light shows the critical moment of the miracle. The young man, risen from the bier, sits upright, wrapped in his shroud and turning towards Christ. At the foot of the bier, the grieving mother kneels, her outstretched hands expressing both plea and astonishment. Two youthful attendants flank the bier, their red garments providing a strong visual anchor in the composition.
The right light contains the remainder of the funeral party. The bearers step back in amazement, while an older man in green robes clasps his hands in a gesture of awe. A small dog at the lower edge adds a domestic note typical of Victorian narrative detail. Behind the figures, Hardman’s workshop has included an architectural backdrop of city walls and towers, rendered in muted tones to frame but not dominate the scene.
Throughout, the glazing is enriched with Gothic canopies, foliate borders, and patterned quarries characteristic of Hardman’s late 19th-century output. The colour palette, deep blues, greens, and ruby tones, contributes to the solemnity of the miracle narrative while maintaining the decorative coherence of the abbey’s Victorian glazing programme.
