Stained Glass Windows

Designing for light

Every window faces somewhere, and that changes everything. A north-facing landing receives soft, even light, so we favour paler, warmer glass that glows rather than darkens. A south-facing stair window can carry deep, saturated colour that throws pools of red and blue across the treads in the afternoon.

We also think about what the window needs to hide and what it should frame. A border of colour with clear centre panes keeps the view of a garden; a fully pictorial design turns a neighbour's wall into a private landscape. Often the best answer is a mixture — obscure glass at eye level, colour and detail above.

Traditional leaded lights

A traditionally made leaded light is cut piece by piece, joined with lead came, soldered on both faces and cemented to make it rigid and weatherproof. Larger windows are strengthened with saddle bars tied to the lead, exactly as they have been for centuries.

Leaded panels can be fitted directly into timber or stone openings, or used as decorative inserts behind existing glazing. They are designed to be repaired: a broken piece can be replaced decades later without remaking the whole window.

A stained glass window is the only artwork in the house that changes every hour of the day.

Stained glass in double glazing

Modern homes often need the thermal performance of double glazing. We can seal a leaded panel inside a double-glazed unit, with toughened or laminated glass on the outside and inside. You keep the depth and texture of real stained glass, while the unit insulates, resists impact and wipes clean like any other window.

This approach also suits conservation areas where the appearance of traditional glass matters, and homes where a decorative window is close to the floor or beside a door and therefore needs safety glazing.

Restoration and re-leading

Lead slowly fatigues and cement dries out. The signs are familiar: bulging panels, rattling glass, light showing along the lead lines, or water marks on the sill. When a window reaches that stage, we remove it carefully, take a rubbing to record every line, and dismantle it piece by piece.

Each sound piece of original glass is cleaned and reused. Cracked pieces are repaired or matched, the panel is rebuilt with new lead and cement, and it goes back into the opening flat and weathertight — ready for many more decades. For vulnerable windows we can add ventilated protective glazing on the outside.

Typical commissions

• Landing and staircase windows
• Bay and sash window inserts
• Encapsulated double-glazed units
• Re-leading and repair of period glass

Questions we are often asked