What does Victorian Stained Glass Mean?

This article focuses on how patrons used iconography to articulate their own stories: in effect how Biblical imagery became a vehicle for addressing largely secular concerns. The article demonstrates that stained glass can inform us about the patron as well as the artist: through stained glass we can glimpse how people attempted to communicate through iconography. For many patrons, commissioning stained glass was an active process that influenced the design and content of the window. The article explores how donors incorportated their portraits into windows and then presents two case studies. Firstly, the article argues that the donors of the west window of Bradford Cathedral created iconography specifically about gender identity and secondly that the Speke memorial in Dowlish Wake (Somerset) used iconography to conflate British imperial ideology with religious imagery.