This multi-light stained glass window, dated 1863 and designed by William Wailes, presents a richly structured typological meditation on sacrifice, suffering, and redemption, characteristic of mid-Victorian Anglican theology and narrative glass.

Upper register (New Testament)

The principal upper sequence depicts the central events of Christ’s Passion and glorification:

• The Agony in the Garden

• Christ carrying the Cross

• The Crucifixion, occupying the dominant central position

• The Resurrection

• The Ascension

Arranged symmetrically around the Crucifixion, these scenes trace the movement from obedience and suffering to triumph and exaltation.

Lower register (Old Testament types)

The lower panels present Old Testament episodes understood as prefigurations of Christ’s sacrifice:

• Jacob’s sorrow at the sight of Joseph’s bloodstained coat

• Isaac ⓘ carrying the wood for his own sacrifice, directly anticipating Christ bearing the Cross

• The angel preventing the sacrifice of Isaac, signifying divine mercy

• Joseph released from the pit, a type of deliverance and restoration

• Elijah taken up in the fiery chariot, foreshadowing resurrection and ascension

Together, these scenes establish a visual and theological correspondence between Old Testament narrative and New Testament fulfilment.

Tracery and iconographic crown

In the upper tracery, the Agnus Dei is surrounded by angels. Five angels bear scrolls inscribed with the text from Revelation 5:12–14:

“Dignus est agnus qui occisus est accipere virtutem et divinitatem et sapientiam et fortitudinem et honorem et gloriam et benedictionem.”
(“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing.”)

Four additional angels carry the Instruments of the Passion, including the scourge, pillar, crown of thorns, cross, lance, reed, and sponge, visually linking the heavenly vision of Revelation with the earthly suffering shown below.

Angels flanking the finials at the tops of the canopies complete the composition, reinforcing the vertical ascent from human suffering to celestial worship.

Interpretation and style

The window exemplifies William Wailes’s mature narrative style, combining vivid colour, clearly legible figural groupings, and a didactic typological programme. By uniting Old Testament sacrifice, the Passion of Christ, and the worship of the Lamb in heaven, the design articulates a comprehensive theology of redemption in which historical suffering is revealed as part of an eternal salvific order.