The Nativity

The Nativity

Designer: Sir Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898)

Firm: Morris & Co.

Stained glass

1887-88

St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham

Burne-Jones's Other Windows in the Cathedral

  • The Ascension
  • The Crucifixion
  • The West Window (The Last Judgment)
  • After J. A. Chatwin (1830-1907) had enlarged the church in 1883-84, the patron of the work, the wealthy heiress Emma Villiers-Wilkes, undertook to pay most of the cost of the stained glass for the three large windows in the new chancel. Edward Burne-Jones, who was born locally and had been baptised in the church, first agreed to design the central one, showing the Ascension. He was so pleased with it that a little later he offered to design the others as well, showing the Nativity and Crucifixion. [Commentary continues below.]

    Main photograph by Colin Price, 2019. Detail of lower part, text and formatting, 2012, by Jacqueline Banerjee.

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