This window depicting The Baptism of Christ was designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and executed by Morris & Co. as a memorial to the Revd W. C. Buckley, vicar of Middleton Stoney and a personal friend of the artist. Installed a few years after Buckley’s death in 1882, it stands as both a work of spiritual reflection and a token of private affection within the circle of the late Pre-Raphaelites.

In the composition, Christ stands immersed in the waters of the Jordan, head bowed and hands crossed upon His chest in an attitude of humility. To His side, John the Baptist, clad in his camel-hair garment, leans forward to pour the water of baptism from a shell. Three attendant angels, draped in pale robes, witness the event in silent reverence, their delicate faces and folded wings composed with Burne-Jones’s characteristic serenity. The subdued palette—soft greens, muted golds, and blues deepening toward the upper tracery—creates a still, contemplative atmosphere that evokes both purity and transfiguration.

The craftsmanship of Morris & Co. translates Burne-Jones’s design into glass of exceptional refinement. The elongated figures, rhythmic drapery, and subtle modulations of tone reveal the artist’s mastery of line and spiritual symbolism, while the careful leading and transparent colouring exemplify the technical precision of the firm’s later period.

As a memorial, the window embodies the Victorian faith in art as a medium of remembrance and redemption. It unites theological depth with aesthetic idealism, standing today not only as one of Burne-Jones’s most tender religious designs but also as a testament to friendship, devotion, and the enduring dialogue between beauty and belief.