The magnificent stained-glass windows in the chancel of Tewkesbury Abbey date from between 1338 and 1340 and are among the finest examples of Decorated Gothic glass in England. They were most probably commissioned as a gift to the Abbey by Eleanor Despenser (née de Clare), wife of Hugh Despenser the Younger and granddaughter of Edward I. Eleanor herself is believed to be depicted among the figures in the surviving panels.

The chancel contains seven great windows arranged in a majestic array: a central window depicting the Last Judgement, surmounted by a rose window of the Coronation of the Virgin, flanked by three tall windows on each side. The two windows immediately adjacent to the Last Judgement show King Solomon with four prophets and King Rehoboam with four prophets—images that evoke the royal and prophetic ancestry of Christ. Further along, the next pair of windows depicts King David and King Abijah, continuing this sacred genealogy.

The outermost windows portray the founder of Tewkesbury Abbey and his descendants, together with members of the de Clare family, Eleanor’s illustrious forebears. These ancestral knights form a visual lineage linking Eleanor’s own heritage to the Abbey’s foundation, mirroring the royal lineages of the central biblical kings and prophets. In this way, the glazing scheme unites sacred and secular ancestry, proclaiming both the divine descent of Christ and the noble patronage of the house of de Clare.

Radiant with colour and symbolism, the chancel windows of Tewkesbury embody the spiritual and dynastic ambitions of fourteenth-century England—an enduring testament to faith, family, and artistic splendour.