Guildford Stained Glass

Founded in 1994, the Leadbitter Glass Studio has been supplying Overlay Stained Glass panels to homes and businesses across Guildford ever since, delivering to every other part of the UK too. Guildford Cathedral, consecrated in 1961, is the only English cathedral dedicated to the Holy Spirit, and its East Rose Window by Moira Forsyth fills the nave with colour against an otherwise plain, deliberately quiet interior.

We design and build every Overlay Stained Glass panel ourselves, from your own idea or from one of the hundreds of patterns in our gallery. It’s supplied as either toughened single glazing or a double-glazed unit, and works equally well on a front door, a stairwell window, or anywhere else glass lets light into the house. Most orders qualify for free delivery across Guildford.

We’ve made glass for a Prime Minister’s home and for Hollywood film sets, but most of what leaves our studio ends up in ordinary front doors across Guildford. We also produce other styles of Decorative Glass for Guildford clients, including Bevelled Glass, Etched Glass, and Fused Glass.

See your glass before we create it!

You’ll See It Before We Build It

Ordering coloured glass sight-unseen is a leap of faith most people would rather not take, so we don’t ask Guildford customers to take it. Every order gets its own Client Page, where within a few days we post a full-colour, to-scale drawing of your exact panel. Not keen on that shade of green? Want the border a fraction narrower? Tell us and we’ll redraw it — as many rounds as you need. We only pick up the tools once you’ve said yes.

Image above created using Minster Glass.

Why We Don’t Build It The Old Way

Traditional leaded glass has a well-known weak spot: it lets cold air straight through the gaps between the individual pieces, and any single crack tends to spread. Our version avoids that by working from a single sheet of toughened safety glass from the start — the lead lines and the colour are both applied directly onto it, rather than built up piece by piece around a lattice.

We can also supply Pilkington K Glass where required, which is what current building regulations expect for new window and door installations across Guildford and the rest of the UK.

The process starts with lead strips shaped by hand across the glass to trace out the design, uncoloured at this stage. We then flip the sheet and fill in the colour — each section painted individually within its own leaded outline. Once that side is finished, we mirror the lead lines onto the back, so the finished panel is leaded and coloured on both faces, not just one.

Several different lead finishes are available — see our Leaded Glass page for the options.

Ready to have Overlay Stained Glass, or any other decorative glass, made for your Guildford home or business? Get in touch today for an accurate quote and turnaround time.

Browse Our Leaded Glass Galleries

Our website holds one of the largest collections of decorative glass patterns anywhere. Browse hundreds of Leaded Glass designs in our main gallery, arranged by theme and by door style, to find the right pattern — or simply for inspiration towards your own. Visit the Main Gallery to see what’s possible.

Notable Stained Glass Commissions from the Guildford area…