The GreaT easT WindoW

The Great East Window was made between 1405 and 1408 by a team of craftsmen led by master glazier John Thornton of Coventry. It is the largest window in York Minster and was one of the most ambitious stained glass creations of the Middle Ages. Its panels depict the beginning and the end of the Christian cosmos, from the Creation in the Book of Genesis to the Apocalypse and the Second Coming of Christ. Sarah Brown, director of the York Glaziers Trust, explains the window summarises the medieval perception of human history. It all unfolds under the feet of God the Father and the company of heaven. In spite of Thornton being required to paint only some of the glass himself, he did have the ambitious task of having to ‘cartoon’ – drawing the original artwork – over 300 panels himself. The restoration project is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. The Apocalypse section of the window, conserved with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and the York Minster Fund, was unveiled in March 2016. The second phase of work, funded by the York Minster Fund, will be completed by the end of 2017. The overall cost of restoring the window has been close to £4 million.