This four-light window, at All Saints Stamford, dated 1897, was executed by C. E. Kempe & Co. and presents the patron saints of four major English cathedrals: Lincoln, Peterborough, Lichfield, and York.

Each saint stands beneath elaborate architectural canopies, with heraldic devices displayed below and cathedral associations indicated by inscriptions.

From left to right:

• St Hugh of Lincoln, bishop and reformer of the twelfth century, holding crozier and book.

• St Peter ⓘ (Peterborough Cathedral), bearing keys and pastoral insignia.

• St Chad (Lichfield Cathedral), early bishop of Mercia, shown with crozier and Gospel book.

• St William of York, archbishop of York, depicted in episcopal vesture.

Below each figure appears heraldry associated with the respective cathedral or diocese, reinforcing ecclesiastical identity.

The tracery includes shields and decorative devices, including the IHS monogram centrally, reflecting Kempe’s characteristic devotional emphasis.

Stylistic Features

This window exemplifies Kempe’s mature style of the 1890s:

• Deep, richly modulated colour

• Distinctive stippled facial modelling

• Golden diaper backgrounds

• Architectural canopy complexity

• Heraldic clarity

The figures possess the solemn gravitas typical of Kempe’s ecclesiastical commissions, with elongated proportions and carefully articulated drapery folds.

Thematic Structure

The programme links All Saints Stamford to the broader ecclesiastical geography of England, situating the parish within the historic cathedral tradition of the Midlands and North.

Installed in 1897, the window reflects the late Victorian Anglican revival of diocesan and cathedral consciousness, expressed through heraldry and episcopal saints.