Focus on Five Sisters window and explore the History.
The Five Sisters were built c.1250-70. Their creation was funded in part by York's Jewish community, notably the wealthy Aaron of York, leading to the windows being called "the Jewish window".In the 16th century, upkeep of the Five Sisters was financed by Cross Keys Farm, an estate belonging to the Church of York. The windows were spared destruction under Oliver Cromwell because Yorkshire-born Lord Thomas Fairfax, Cromwell's Parliamentary General, issued an order that "the man who damaged the windows [of York Minster] would be shot at sight."In 1791 and 1793, William Peckitt of York, an enamel glass painter, made some repairs to the windows.
In 1847, York Minster's historian, John Browne, published contemporary coloured drawings of the windows, before the impact of dirt and corrosion discoloured them.In 1907, during renovation of the Minster, overseen by George Frederick Bodley RA, it was discovered that a layer of plain green glass, which had been added to protect the windows, had cracked, together with the surrounding stonework. The protective glass was replaced in 1908, with the Builder's Journal and Architectural Engineer writing that "It would be dangerous and, indeed, impossible to attempt to touch the ancient glass itself. It is too fragile, but it can be thoroughly protected and preserved from further decay."
Thomas Fairfax York Minster York George Frederick Bodley Oliver Cromwell Lord Thomas Fairfax William Peckitt