The first window to the left of the altar has three lights, showing St Margaret of Antioch, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and St Paulinus (who is not identified by any iconography in the window itself: we know who it is from the original invoices). That St Margaret of Antioch is depicted is a reflection of the renewal of interest in the saints and martyrs of the early church encouraged by the Oxford Movement, of which John Sharp was an early follower. Unfortunately, St Margaret is almost certainly an apocryphal figure. She was supposed to have been martyred as a consequence of rejecting the amorous advances of the Roman governor of Antioch, Olybrius, she having converted to Christianity. The torments she is said to have suffered included being swallowed by a dragon, though she was found to be indigestible, and the dragon burst asunder. She was said to have been beheaded during the persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian in the third century. Her cult was very popular in the Middle Ages, and she was said to typify female meekness and innocence. We see her here wearing a martyr’s crown, holding a palm leaf, a symbol of martyrdom, and trampling the dragon underfoot. The revival of interest in St Margaret in the 19th century had an interesting sidelight: she became the subject of an oratorio by Sir Arthur Sullivan, “The Martyr of Antioch”, which was extremely popular in the 1880s and 90s, and which contains much fine music, including Margaret’s vision of Christ receiving her into heaven.

The window showing St Mary the Virgin would originally have been the central light in the side chapel before it was rebuilt, as befitting the church’s dedication. Note the description of Mary as “Flos Flororum”, the “flower of flowers”, the fairest among women.

St Paulinus is an appropriate subject for a window here: he was the first Bishop of York, and is known to have been active in this part of Yorkshire before his ministry was cut short by the victory of the pagan Mercians over the Christian Northumbrians in 633. It is even possible that he passed through Horbury on one of his missionary journeys, if as is likely, he followed the river valleys as a means of reaching potential converts.

The window to the right of the altar was placed as a memorial to a soldier who fell in the First World War when the chapel was extended. It was paid for by Mrs Vint, a notable benefactress of St Mary’s in its early years. It shows St Wilfrid, St George, and St Aidan.

Wilfrid is depicted holding a model of York Minster: he was Bishop of York following the re-conversion of Northumbria some 30 years after Paulinus had to flee. He was a combative and litigious man, an ecclesiastical politician who seems to have fallen out with most of those he dealt with: but he was very largely responsible through his powers of advocacy at the Synod of Whitby for ensuring that England followed the Roman tradition of Christianity rather than the Celtic tradition represented by Aidan of Lindisfarne, who was a much more attractive figure. Aidan’s presence is however appropriate: he was a man of great learning and piety; Lindisfarne was the cradle of northern Christian renewal. The Vicar of St Mary’s at the time this window was commissioned was Ernest Elford, who was a devotee of Aidan and his followers, and who became the incumbent of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island after leaving St Mary’s. He may well have suggested Aidan’s inclusion.

The inclusion of St George is perhaps not surprising in a war memorial window, especially one of the 1920s, when St George was identified as a role model of courage and valour: a saint with whom the fallen of the First World War could easily be identified by their grieving families.

The windows in the south wall of the chapel tell the story of the Nativity of Jesus. The first set was installed in the church on its opening by John Sharp as a memorial to his parents. His father was Vicar of Wakefield for many years in the 19th century. The windows take the Nativity story up to the shepherds coming to the stable. The second set of windows was added later, again paid for by Mrs Vint, and show the coming of the Magi and the Presentation of Christ.