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Welcome to our stained glass and leaded-lights web site. If you have a stained glass window project in mind, do get in touch with us. We have an enquiry form to help us give you an idea of costs.

See here for the difference stained glass can make

Use the menu at the top of the main page to explore the site

See our on-line 'Museum' of glass we like





We make a variety of bespoke stained glass and leaded lights in traditional and alternative designs, using traditional methods and materials. These are generally for regular glazing (maybe where you want an alternative to conventional clear obscured glass), or for hanging or standing in front of existing windows, including double glazed units. The are fully weather proof, but can also be used in interior decoration. We also undertake repairs.

we will:

  • produce new panels to match or complement your existing glass
  • work with you and your designs to produce new leaded coloured glass panels
  • prepare and execute designs from your ideas and brief
  • come up with design ideas for you
  • install the finished piece if required (its common for newly installed windows to be backed up with regular or toughened glass for additional security)

we work:

  • with the traditional materials of lead cames (or calms) and coloured glass, cut by hand to the design (the cartoon), fitted together (leaded up), the lead joints fluxed (with tallow) and soldered together, cemented in (with a special putty) and finally finished with blacklead.
  • sometimes introducing elements using the copper foil technique - often seen in lamp shades and pioneered by Tiffany - who also produced windows in this medium.
  • using foil for finer detail where the width of the lead stops us achieving this.
  • with an initial set of drawings including a cartoon, and these are used for cutting and assembly.

we do not:

  • use self adhesive lead strips combined with coloured lacquers to create our work. These are non-traditional mass production type methods, often seen in double glazed windows and casements. They lack the visual impact of the traditional techniques since they use a single usually flat glass, in a rigid plane and much of the reflection and life of a proper leaded pane is lost.
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If you are thinking about a stained glass project, do get in touch. We are happy to have a preliminary discussion with no commitment on your part, and to work face to face, or electronically in the early stages. Email or phone us, or we have created a questionnaire and some thoughts on styles that might be helpful.

Some of our clients are very clear about what they would like and other just know they would like some stained glass!

The medium of lead and glass has as many constraints as it does opportunities - and the unique appearance of a traditionally made panel (not necessarily to a traditional design) comes from managing these constraints and opportunities creatively.

Some of the main points to consider are:

Design - we have a design styles page and a questionnaire to help clarify design ideas.

Stained glass in the home is much more common in the US and Germany than in the UK - lets redress the balance! We will work with you to create what you are looking for, we can make our own design proposals, and we can offer a variety of sources for design ideas. Sometimes clients want to replicate or approximate what may have been in place earlier in the life of their home - sources for these designs can come from neighboring houses, architectural sources, or generated from knowledge of the era and style of the building. Other want some thing radically different. There can be the opportunity to personalise the design, inserting elements of particular significance to the owners.

The medium provides a huge range of colour, texture, opacity and reflections depending on the glasses chosen. The opportunity to alter the matrix in which the glass is held can vary the boundaries with striking effects.

To generate a new design proposal we really need to visit the site, although we can generate some early ideas, and a rough cost estimate from a discussion and sight of photographs.

We need to understand what you are looking for - and develop and agree a short design brief, which will take account of your ideas, the context of the panel - in terms of the aesthetics and the practicalities of ensuring the design can be securely made and mounted. From this we will prepare a visual and select glass samples. Once this is agreed we will submit a formal quotation, and request a deposit before proceeding further. We then produce a full size drawing (the cartoon), for your approval, from which the panel is built.

Its important to note the panel will look very different looking in, to looking out, depending on the light source. Coloured glass in panels mounted internally - that is not as windows to the outside - can look very different (generally a lot darker) because of the lack of direct light, to the same glass in a window in the sun.

Installation

Needs to be taken into account at the design stage. Leaded glass panels are surprisingly heavy - and the frame - or whatever - into which they will be installed has to be adequate. Larger designs are usually assembled from a number of linked panels. We can install, or liaise with your glazier, builder or contractor.

Strength and Security

In a contest with a conventional piece of glass a leaded panel is likely to suffer less damage in an impact - it is more flexible - the lead will absorb impacts and the cement adheres strongly to glass and lead. By the same token the weight and flexibility of the panel mean that unless it is well supported it will sag and bow - even quite small panels have this tendency. To overcome this, and generally add strength, external and internal reinforcement may be used.

Its common, and probably good practice for security (although it can detract from the appearance of the panel) to install behind a sheet of laminated (or maybe toughened) glass. Adding to existing glazing in this way may minimise disruption and installation cost, although as mentioned above the impact of the external appearance is lost somewhat.