STAINED glass windows dating back to the 15th century - one with the head of a saint which has been missing since it was stolen 180 years ago - have been restored at a church in York city centre.

All Saints Church in North Street has more medieval glass than almost any other parish church in England and an ongoing project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund is restoring a series of the windows.

Now the seventh and eighth of the restored windows are returning to the church: the St Michael and St John window and the South East Aisle window.

A spokesperson said the St Michael and St John window, created in 1430, depicted on its left side St Michael the archangel defeating Satan, who is depicted as a blue animal with three heads. 

The head of St Michael was stolen in the 1840s and this work sees the first restoration of the face in 180 years, they said. 

On the right side, the window depicts St John the Evangelist holding a scroll reading ‘Benedictus sit sermo oris tui’, ‘Blessed be the word of your mouth.'

The Nine Orders of Angels will be back in spring 2023, they added.

The restoration work has been carried out by renowned stained glass specialists Barley Studios in Dunnington.

David Titchener, Chair of The Friends of All Saints, said the return of the two windows to the church marked a 'great milestone' in the successful restoration project.

“All Saints contains more medieval glass than almost any other parish church in England and we are so thankful for the careful craftsmanship of the team at Barley Studios for taking such care in restoring them to their original magnificence," he said.

He said the parish church, dating primarily from the 14th and 15th century, stood on a site that had been hallowed for worship since Anglo-Saxon times, and the medieval glass there was recognised as among the most important collections in the British Isles.

The church was open daily for visitors from 10am with a weekly Sunday service, as well as offering the opportunity for private hire events.

He said that to celebrate the return of the windows, All Saints would be hosting weekly coffee mornings at 11:30-12:30 starting with a tour of the glass by Dr Robert Richards on Friday October 28. 

On November 4 at 2-3pm, Dr David Mercer would deliver an illustrated talk on making medieval stained glass.

A spokesperson for the National Lottery Heritage Fund said that since The National Lottery began in 1994, players had raised more than £43 billion for projects and more than 635,000 grants had been awarded.