Design and History

Designed by architect Thomas Worthington in the 1890s, when the then Manchester College moved to Oxford, the chapel has a remarkable design history, with its stained glass windows designed by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris and its organ pipes painted by Morris & Co. A renovation project, completed in 2025, means that the chapel is looking better than ever, with new lighting making it even easier to appreciate its many unique features.

The chapel's fine three-manual Nicholson organ was restored in 2008. The organ pipes were painted by Morris & Co.

The windows – now one of the chapel’s most celebrated features – replaced the original plain glass between 1895 and 1899. They are all by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris, making the chapel the only room in Oxford to be lit entirely by Morris and Burne-Jones glass. Perhaps the most striking are the Six Days of Creation, installed in 1896 on the North wall, a gift of James and Isabella Arlosh, in memory of their son, Godfrey. Six angels carry the earth on successive days of Creation, with the previous days’ angels crowding in behind each new one. The motto elargissez dieu, a quotation from Diderot, can be translated as ‘broaden your idea of God.’

The windows facing the Creation series represent virtues, such as generosity, charity and humility. In the choir, facing the organ pipes, two small windows in delicate, softer colours, reflect a musical theme: Miriam, sister of Moses, accompanying her own song with cymbals, and David, composer of the Psalms, with his harp. Both were added to the Chapel in 1900.

Take a virtual tour of the chapel and discover more about the College's history by downloading the Bloomberg Connects app and searching for Harris Manchester.