Accessibility statement
Image of two examples of stained glass

Stained glass

The Library holds an extensive collection of books and images on stained glass which supports the teaching and research undertaken in Stained Glass Studies, a University centre of excellence.

The Wormald, Newton and Newbold collections are in the King's Manor Library and can be consulted without prior notice but not borrowed.

Newbold Collection

Bequeathed by Dr Peter Newbold (1938-1996), for many years consultant dermatologist at Worcester Royal Infirmary.
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Dr Newbold was a lover of the fine arts and built up a very strong collection of material in this area with special emphasis on stained glass. The collection contains an extensive set of the Corpus Vitrearum series and, together with books from the Newton and Wormald Collections, forms an exceptional resource for the study of stained glass.

Newton Collection

​Dr Peter Newton, lecturer in British mediaeval art at York from 1965 to 1986, left his extensive library and collection of slides to the University. The collection is particularly strong in works on stained glass.

Dr Newton's notes on stained glass and heraldry are kept in the Rare Books collection on the Heslington campus.

Wormald Collection

The Wormald Collection was formerly the library of the late Francis Wormald, President of the Society of Antiquaries of London and Director of the Institute of Historical Research, and was given to the University of York by his widow in 1972.

It consists principally of books on the history of art, mediaeval history, and medieval English literature.

Digitised collections

York Digital Library contains a collection of images of stained glass windows from both British and European examples.

  • Painton Cowen is one of the world's foremost photographers of and writers on stained glass. There are over 12,000 images in the collection.
  • Christopher Norton is Professor in History of Art in the Centre for Medieval Studies.
  • Richard Marks is an Emeritus Professor in the History of Art Department.

The Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi (CVMA) is hosted by the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of York. It contains a collection of over 25,000 publicly accessible images of stained glass.