Saint Thomas Becket

These three lancet windows, exceptional examples of fifteenth-century English painted stained glass, are attributed to an artist from the region of Hereford. They have been traced to the domestic chapel of Hampton Court, near Leominster, Herefordshire. All three depict saints: Saint Anne teaching her daughter, the Virgin Mary, to read; Saint Winifred, a Welsh saint who was admired in medieval Britain; and Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered by Henry II in 1170. The colours of the glass are restricted to red and blue, with yellow highlights that resulted from the application of a silver stain to the white glass. The emphasis is on painted line rather than pure colour, and the draftsmanship, modelling of the figures and fluid lines of the drapery are extremely skilful. The placement of the figures under an architectural canopy against a ground of vegetal motifs or textile patterns was a common feature of fifteenth-century English stained glass.