York Stained Glass

Founded in 1994, the Leadbitter Glass Studio has been supplying Overlay Stained Glass panels to homes and businesses across York ever since. We also deliver to every other part of the UK. York Minster is home to the Great East Window, England’s single largest expanse of medieval stained glass — a reminder of how deeply this craft runs through the city’s history, and stained glass remains one of the most requested styles for period properties across York today.

Working from our own Decorative Glass Studio, we design and manufacture every panel ourselves — either from your own photos and ideas, or from one of the hundreds of designs in our gallery. Our Overlay Stained Glass is available as toughened single glazing or as a resilient double-glazed unit, and works just as well for a front door, a feature window, or any other glazed space in the home. Almost every panel we make qualifies for free delivery to York addresses.

We’ve made Overlay Stained Glass for a Prime Minister’s home, for Hollywood film sets, and for well-known singers and billionaires — but the vast majority of our work is for homeowners just like you. We also make other styles of Decorative Glass for York clients, including Bevelled Glass, Etched Glass, and Fused Glass.

See your glass before we create it!

Our Free Client Pages Design Service

Every order includes free access to our Client Pages design service. Within a few days of ordering, we’ll send you a computer-generated proof showing exactly how your chosen design will look, built to your own glass sizes and colours. You can request as many changes as you like at this stage — a different border, an adjusted colour, a resized element — until you’re completely happy. Production only begins once you’ve approved the final drawing.

Image above created using Minster Glass.

How Overlay Stained Glass Is Made

Compared to traditional stained glass, our approach offers a real energy-saving edge. Since the entire design is built by hand onto a single sheet of toughened safety glass, there’s no joint in the panel for cold air to exploit.

Pilkington K Glass can be supplied on request too, and it’s a building regulations requirement for new window and door installations across York and the wider UK.

Durability and security matter just as much as the design itself. By manufacturing with toughened or laminated safety glass, we produce panels built to last.

In the past, homeowners paid thousands of pounds for traditional leaded glass, only to find small coloured sections cracking within weeks — something that simply doesn’t happen with Overlay Stained Glass.

Our process

Every panel begins with lead strips shaped by hand across a solid sheet of toughened glass, outlining your chosen design without any colour yet. We then turn the glass over and begin the colourwork, fitting each piece of stained glass overlay colour precisely between the leaded lines.

Once the colourwork is finished, we apply matching lead strips to the reverse, mirroring the pattern exactly. The finished result is fully leaded and fully coloured on both sides — entirely hand-made.

We offer a range of different lead finishes, which you can see in our Leaded Glass section.

Planning to have Overlay Stained Glass or any other decorative glass made for your York 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, organised into themed collections and by door style, to help you find the perfect pattern — or simply for inspiration to create your own. Visit the Main Gallery to explore what’s possible.

Notable Stained Glass Commissions from the York area…