WILLIAM GLASBY
(1863-1941)
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In 1876, aged twelve, William Glasby started working for James Powell & Sons. Glasby quickly rose to become the highest paid glass painter in the firm, especially by working on stained-glass windows designed by Henry Holiday. Glasby was poached and moved to Holiday’s independent studio in Hampstead, a move which provided accommodation for Glasby’s family from 1891-1906.
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Holiday closed his Hampstead studio and joined the Lownes and Drury Glass House in Fulham. This severed Glasby’s employment running the Holiday studio and forced the family to find new accommodation. From 1906 Glasby was an independent painter and designer, working on windows for Morris & Co of Merton Abbey, for Holiday, and for W. B. Simpson & Sons. During this time Glasby created his own designs for windows and in 1921 established his own studio. At this time there was a demand for opus sectile and War Memorials. Glasby was supported in his work by his wife, Constance, and his younger daughter, Dulcima. Dulcima was a journalist, actress, writer of children’s story books and adapted plays for radio for the BBC. Barbara, the elder daughter, was a skilled artist who contributed to her father's studio and painted many Glasby designs.
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Glasby’s work as a stained-glass designer went unrecognized until 1985, when Donald Green correctly identified a Glasby window at Wheelock that had earlier been mistakenly attributed to Morris & Co.
Glasby receive commissions from English, Scottish and Irish churches, and across the globe, from the US, India, Malaysia. His most famous and largest commission was for twenty windows for Peachtree, Atlanta Georgia. Glasby finished eight of the windows before the outbreak of WWII. He died in 1941 at Horsham. His daughters finished the remaining windows.
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A list of documented Glasby Windows can be found in the research undertaken by John Collins and Erika Szyszczak on this website and by Donald Green, Dennis Hadley and Joan Hadley, “The life and work of William Glasby” 32 The Journal of Stained Glass (2008) 91-106.
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Opinions on Glasby are mixed. On the reverse side of some of his Vidimus for churches there are many glowing recommendations from satisfied donors and Ministers of churches. He was appreciated in the United States and was described in an Obituary as “The greatest stained glass artist in the world” because of his Peachtree designs.
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In contrast, Pevsner was critical of many of Glasby’s windows. Glasby was very influenced by Holiday’s style. Green summed up Glasby as “a more than competent craftsman.” Green, Hadley, and Hadley’s assessment of Glasby states: “ [he] was not a major artist, but from humble beginnings and through his own efforts, he established a studio that was able to survive a deep economic recession …[and which] … satisfied a varied clientele.”
William Glasby 1863-1941
Stained Glass Artist
​Welcome to this website which describes the work of the stained glass artist, William Glasby. Very little attention has been paid to this artist and his work. This research project discusses his life and some of the stained glass windows he produced for churches across the world.
The Web Site is being updated to take into account new information obtained in January 2026 from Donald Green's Archive deposited at Historic England, Swindon.
Please scroll down to the next section and click on one of the Images.
Then Click " All Posts" to access the beautiful world of stained- glass windows
The Sketches and Windows
Foreign Commissions and British Churches
This was a COVID-19 lock down project by John Collins and Erika Szyszczak, neighbours in Hove, East Sussex. Here is our Journey of discovery: whether the Stained Glass Windows still survive and to find out more about the history of the Windows and the history of William Glasby and his family.
If you scroll to the end of the Home Page there is a copy of each sketch, together with any information we have discovered. Some of the Logs are incomplete. We would be delighted if any further information can be supplied, alongside any photographs of the actual Windows.
We were very aware that many of the churches were working under severe constraints and pressure during the COVID-19 lockdown and were humbled by the willingness of Church officials, members, archivists who took an interest in our project. Thank you.
